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Gala brings hospital closer to goal
Published 10/20/2008 in News
By EMILY BEHLMANN
Cardiac care is the No. 1 reason St. Catherine Hospital has to fly patients out of Garden City to bigger hospitals in places like Wichita, according to president and CEO Scott Taylor.
The trips can be tough, not just on the patients, but also their families, said St. Catherine Marketing Director Janie Wimmer.
"The family is faced with a four-hour drive, which brings additional stress and additional expense," she said.
St. Catherine's goal, then, is to bring cardiac services to Garden City, where they can be available to local residents and others in southwest Kansas, Wimmer said. The hospital is working on recruiting a cardiologist and establishing a cardiac unit, but it still has about $150,000 worth of equipment to go, she said.
Saturday night brought the hospital a little bit closer to that goal.
The evening transformed the hospital lobby and cafeteria into something more -- a garden beneath hanging Japanese lanterns and a restaurant illuminated by chandeliers -- for the fifth annual St. Catherine Hospital Development Foundation Gala.
The foundation raises funds to assist the hospital, and Wimmer said this is the third year in a row that the money raised would be earmarked toward the cardiac unit.
This year's theme was "An Evening at Tavern on the Green" after the New York restaurant, and the event offered the chance to win a four-day, three-night trip to New York City that included dinner for two at Tavern on the Green. The prize went to Margaret Oliver of Garden City.
At the gala, attendees enjoyed champagne, dinner and an evening of dancing to music by Big Fat Fun, of Wichita.
Wimmer said this year's gala was the best and biggest ever, with 50 sponsors and a sell-out of the 200 available $100 tickets.
Soen B. Liong, a radiologist at St. Catherine, was one of the ticket-holders, and he said he also provided tickets for those working in his department.
"This is my hospital," he said. "It's a good deed coming."
It's fun, too, said Lisa Lovins, who works in Liong's department as director of imaging services. She said she likes attending because it gives her a chance to meet people associated with the hospital she doesn't get to see on a daily basis.
Taylor said he, too, sees a benefit to the social occasion beyond the funds it raises.
"It's good for the community leadership to see St. Catherine Hospital in a different light than just as a hospital," he said. "It's a fundraiser, but it's truly a wonderful social event."
Still, the cause of the cardiac unit remains an important part of the event, he said.
"We look forward to the day we can provide full heart services to the people of Garden City," Taylor said.
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