Garden fete at st josephs hospital in ballina

THE Friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Ballina, have organised a garden fete in the hospital grounds for this coming Sunday (August 2, from 2 to 5 p.m.).

This family event will feature children’s games, face painting, a bouncy castle, pony rides, and more, with stalls offering locally produced goods and hand crafted items, including home baking. It promises to be a fun day - with suitable weather for the occasion, it is hoped.

The primary mission of the Friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital is patient-focused to provide quality of life activities for those patients while in the hospital. A secondary mission is to be the link to the local community for the benefit of the patients and help raise awareness of the hospital and its functions.

Many of the patients in St. Joseph’s Hospital are elderly and may not be from the local area, as the hospital is used as a 'step down' facility for patients who have been in Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar.

As a result, family and friends of patients from distant parts of the county may not be able to visit as often as they would like and this is where the Friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital carry out their primary role of visiting patients. This involves simple tasks like having a chat or running errands for patients or whatever can be done to help a patient have a more enjoyable and positive stay in the hospital.

The volunteers' current functions, apart from visiting, are organising tea parties for patients as well as the annual garden fete, coordinating primary school choir visits, erecting the Christmas tree and providing small gifts at Easter and Christmas.

In addition, the group is a liaison with the local community for resources (funds, services or goods) that are necessary to provide or improve quality of life activities for the patients. Volunteers, by their various activities, seek to create community awareness of the quality of life needs of the patients in the hospital.

The garden fete is the Friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital's only fundraising effort. All the help and support received from the wider community, community groups, individuals and businesses in Ballina is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated.