Donations can now be made right here. Thank you so much for your contribution, it means so much to the families we serve!
If we do not reach our goal by March 9th any funds you donate can be refunded to you or allocated to the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital general fund. If you prefer a refund PLEASE email me so I can keep track of that, if there are associated merchant fees they will not be refunded. My email address keepbirthoptions@gmail.com
If you prefer to send a personal check that is an option also, please include a note indicating if you would your check returned or given to the general hospital fund if we do not reach our goal.
Make checks out to: OB-Blue Hill Memorial Hospital
Send to: Henrietta Clews CNM
Blue Hill Memorial Hospital
PO Box 1653
Blue Hill, Maine 04614
Questions? call Karen or Tanis at our shop String Theory 207 374 9990.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Bellies to Bellies Fundraising & Silent Auction
This Saturday, February 28 there will be a fund raising and awareness raising event in Blue Hill at the Blue Hill Consolidated School. We are busy gathering donations for a silent auction. Entertainment will be provided; including belly dancers, belly painting, fire breathers, yes folks it's true. The festivities begin at noon and go until 3pm.
We have some fantastic donations from very generous donors. Here's a list, there are more that I don't know about. Gift certificates for hair cuts, tanning sessions, dinner out at several local restaurants, pizza,yoga classes, bodywork, yarn or knitting supplies, a gas card, flowers, sporting goods, clothing, delivered loam and more!
Items donated by local businesses, artisans, and indivuduals also include; a handcrafted curly maple side table donated by Baldwin Builders, Motherbloom Botanical Herbs, wine, locally raised food from Horsepower Farm and Stoneset Farm, books, a decadent chocolate cake for 12, lasagna for 8, gardening services, a bowl from Rackliffe Pottery, a light fixture donated by Gilmore Electric with installation by Haskell Electric, 4 oriental rugs.
An amazing bronze sculpture donated by Basha Olson, sculptor from Penobscot, you can see more of her work here.
Stained glass window donated by Kris Grover of Pound Ridge Stained Glass, also of Penobscot.
Yarn and patterns donated by String Theory.
Beautiful handspun yarn by the lovely Linda Freimuth of Northern Bay Handspun.
Hats, there are more lovingly made and donated by Brennan Murphy, our favorite Knitting Imp.
I will try to post more pictures to tantalize you all to come down on Saturday and see for yourselves. A huge thank you to everyone who is helping with this effort and the donors! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
How to Save the World
It's 4am and I lie awake thinking about how to save the world. My world, the OB department at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital where I have worked as a nurse for the last 7 years. The world where babies are born to women are supported with good old fashioned hands on labor support. We encourage women to labor and birth their babies in whatever way they need and want to.
I have had the good fortune to work with amazing people, they are what makes the place so special. It is a fiercely dedicated group of women, one hell of a dedicated man, most days we love what we do.
At 4 am this seems like the best way that we can get the word out and reach out to those who may be interested and hopefully concerned. Our little hospital on the coast of Maine is struggling financially, nothing new there. It's everywhere, on every level. The administrators have made the agonizing decision that if $600,000 is not raised by March 10th 2009, the OB unit will be closed sometime at the end of May. I do not blame the hospital, board, past or present administrators. I know that this was a wrenching decision to make. They feel that they have no choice. The way I'm beginning to see it is that this is a symptom of our breaking health care system. There has been a trend over the last few years of hospitals closing OB departments, they are not great sources of revenue for hospitals.
It's late and my brain is tired so the rest of this post is something I wrote a couple weeks ago. After my coffee I will let you know about fundraising events.
The kernel of truth and hope that I have witnessed time and time again as a labor and delivery nurse is that no matter how hard it hurts, women keep going and they survive. One aspect of this truth that drew me to this work is that not only do women survive but that the process has the potential to be empowering and life altering.
I believe that the dedication of the staff, and the care laboring women and new families receive at the Maternity Department at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital are unique. We hear this from parents who are starting families, who themselves were born at BHMH, - they value their community and they want their children to be born and raised here. It is demostrated by others who come from points Down East, Mount Desert Island and the greater Bangor area, some traveling hours in labor over rough roads because they chose to deliver their babies at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital. It is reflected by the fact that, in the several years I have worked there, women have come from California, Alaska, and Maryland specifically to BH to birth their babies. Those women had family ties in the area, but certainly could have stayed where they lived to labor and deliver.
We are a small unit and have been afforded the luxury of giving women one-on-one care during their stay. We support women in a comfortable family friendly environment. It's a wonderful place to work, but more importantly a wonderful place to have a baby. I know that the way we support women is rare for a hospital environment, this is in large part because of the beliefs of our care providers, including midwives, medical doctors, osteopaths and nurses. I feel pretty safe saying that we collectively believe in women and their ability to give birth.
We are going through hard times right now; the hospital is being hit hard by the recession as is everyone. The hospital recently made some layoffs, however it seems as if that is not enough to remedy the dire situation. I cannot stand by silently and watch while decision may be made to close the OB unit. Closing the OB unit at BHMH will cause families from local community and beyond to lose an option of a rare and wonderful place to have a baby. I don't think we as a community can afford to lose what Blue Hill Memorial Hospital offers for women and their families.
Please contact me if you'd like me to update or include something.
I have had the good fortune to work with amazing people, they are what makes the place so special. It is a fiercely dedicated group of women, one hell of a dedicated man, most days we love what we do.
At 4 am this seems like the best way that we can get the word out and reach out to those who may be interested and hopefully concerned. Our little hospital on the coast of Maine is struggling financially, nothing new there. It's everywhere, on every level. The administrators have made the agonizing decision that if $600,000 is not raised by March 10th 2009, the OB unit will be closed sometime at the end of May. I do not blame the hospital, board, past or present administrators. I know that this was a wrenching decision to make. They feel that they have no choice. The way I'm beginning to see it is that this is a symptom of our breaking health care system. There has been a trend over the last few years of hospitals closing OB departments, they are not great sources of revenue for hospitals.
It's late and my brain is tired so the rest of this post is something I wrote a couple weeks ago. After my coffee I will let you know about fundraising events.
The kernel of truth and hope that I have witnessed time and time again as a labor and delivery nurse is that no matter how hard it hurts, women keep going and they survive. One aspect of this truth that drew me to this work is that not only do women survive but that the process has the potential to be empowering and life altering.
I believe that the dedication of the staff, and the care laboring women and new families receive at the Maternity Department at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital are unique. We hear this from parents who are starting families, who themselves were born at BHMH, - they value their community and they want their children to be born and raised here. It is demostrated by others who come from points Down East, Mount Desert Island and the greater Bangor area, some traveling hours in labor over rough roads because they chose to deliver their babies at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital. It is reflected by the fact that, in the several years I have worked there, women have come from California, Alaska, and Maryland specifically to BH to birth their babies. Those women had family ties in the area, but certainly could have stayed where they lived to labor and deliver.
We are a small unit and have been afforded the luxury of giving women one-on-one care during their stay. We support women in a comfortable family friendly environment. It's a wonderful place to work, but more importantly a wonderful place to have a baby. I know that the way we support women is rare for a hospital environment, this is in large part because of the beliefs of our care providers, including midwives, medical doctors, osteopaths and nurses. I feel pretty safe saying that we collectively believe in women and their ability to give birth.
We are going through hard times right now; the hospital is being hit hard by the recession as is everyone. The hospital recently made some layoffs, however it seems as if that is not enough to remedy the dire situation. I cannot stand by silently and watch while decision may be made to close the OB unit. Closing the OB unit at BHMH will cause families from local community and beyond to lose an option of a rare and wonderful place to have a baby. I don't think we as a community can afford to lose what Blue Hill Memorial Hospital offers for women and their families.
Please contact me if you'd like me to update or include something.
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