Hospital volunteers say Tree of Light project needs more
support
Gilroy – As Patty Sebald passes the towering Christmas tree in the lobby of Saint Louise Regional Hospital, she thinks of motherhood: Her own mother, born on Christmas Day, who died unexpectedly nine years ago, and the new mothers who give birth every day in its maternity ward.
By purchasing an ornament on the 10-foot tree, Sebald honored both. Her mother’s name will appear in an album, prominently displayed in the hospital lobby, and her donation will support the hospital’s Maternal Health Department, replacing old equipment and revamping its plain delivery rooms.
It’s called the Tree of Light, and for the second year, hospital volunteers are lighting it up with tinsel and glowing bulbs to fund maternal care. Last year, the project raised $13,000, which brought in a blanket-warming unit for the nursery, delivery carts, a scale to weigh baby diapers and a fetal acoustic stimulator, which vibrates to wake an idle baby. Resource nurse Christy Vasquez says the equipment has made her job easier and more efficient, letting her spend more time with patients and less running errands.
With this year’s funds, hospital volunteers hope to buy two new birthing beds and a bassinet that cuts down on hospital stays for jaundiced babies, and to give the maternity ward a whole new look, trading blank walls for warm colors and comfy chairs.
“Right now it’s stark and white,” explained Michele Averill, Director of Annual Development. “It needs an updated, peaceful feeling to it.”
Tuesday morning, as volunteers prepared to light the tree for an evening celebration, fundraisers had yet to reach their $13,000 goal. Event chair Roxie Thomas said the project hadn’t snagged as many large donors as hoped, although there’s still hope: though the tree was lit Tuesday night, $10 lights and $100 ornaments can still be purchased until Christmas Day. Donors can choose to honor a friend or family member, whose name will appear in a hospital album.
For Sebald, who works as Director of Surgical Services at the hospital, it filled a void, once occupied by Christmas Eves with her mother. She calls herself the baby of the family, shocked by her mother’s sudden death at age 69.
“Every year when I pick out special Christmas cards for my family, I see the mother ones, and it jerks at my heart,” she said. “I miss being able to buy those cards for her. But when I realized I could purchase an ornament for her, in her memory, I wanted to honor her, and the foundation. And my heart.”
