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Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, December 13, 1994 -- 19 Pz] Wish your hospital a Beary Merry Christmas An innovative Christmas fund raising program is underway at the Community Memorial Hospital in Port Perry. "Wishing you a Beary Merry Christmas" gives people in the community a chance to do two things: make a donation towards new equipment for the' emergency department and send a personal message back to hospital --a message that will be displayed on a large, natural Christmas tree in the emergency department waiting room. Debbie McGarry, manager of the Hospital Foundation, said about 7,000 cards were mailed to Township residents last week. Inside the cards is a pledge sheet and a cut-out bear with the greeting "Wishing You a Very Beary Christmas." Put your message on the cut- out bear, make your pledge and enclose in the stamped, pre- addressed envelope. Ms. McGarry said that in the first week or so, about $10,000 was pledged, and the Foundation is hoping to raise another $15,000 between now and the New Year. The money will be used to help pay for a $150,000 Escort 11 Morfitor Defibrilator for the emergency department. This' piece .of equipment, already in use at Community Memorial, is the latest in new technology. It consists of a defibrilator (electronic stimulus to start a heart that has stopped) and monitors that check heart rates, blood pressure and the supply of oxygen to the body. .Because the monitors are portable, medical staff can watch a patient's condition without staying in the same room. What's more, the equipment won't have to be completely replaced, just the computer chips at a fraction the cost. Community Memorial Hospital RN-Mary Wilson adds more Merry Beary Christmas Greetings to the tree In the Emergency Waiting Room. See story above for more detalls. Christmas Seals short of target Remember the Christmas Seal letter you received in November, and stored in youf desk drawer for attention when the holiday got closer? Well, the Lung Association (Durham Region) hopes you'll pull that letter out again and return your Christmas Seal contribution during "Mail It Week", December 19th to 23rd. Local Lung Assogiation President, Carolyn Greer, said her Association hopes that 7,000 people across Durham Region will answer their Christmas Seal letter during the week, bringing the Association closer to its 1994 . Christmas Seal goal of $185,000. So far, only about $70,000 has been raised, compared with $5, 000 raised last year to this einen Seal income is again down this year" Ms. Greer 4 said. "We hope people will respond generously during Mail It Week, which commemorates the 88th anniversary of the first issue of Christmas Seals. Those very first Seals, created to fight tuberculosis, had a big job to do: They still do today". Christmas Seals now fight all forms of lung disease, including lung cancer, emphysema, asthma and tuberculosis, which is again becoming a problem in certain areas. Christmas Seal dollars fund lung disease research, stop smoking programs, clean air, school health programs and community rehabilitation services. If you haven't received a Christmas Seal package and would like to support the Campaign, please call the Lung Association of Durham Region at 905-436-1046. The Hospital Foundation's Christmas fund-raising program has been developed in conjunction with a similar one at Ajax Pickering Hospital. For example, the two hospitals shared the cost of printing the Christmas cards as a way of reducing the overall costs of their campaigns, said Ms. McGarry. So, when youreceive that distinctive blue and silver "Beary Merry Christmas Card" in the mail (you should have it by now) send your pledge and your own person Christmas message to the Community Hospital. Your donation will help pay for equipment that allows medical staff to provide the best possible health care in your community. Nuts About Chocolate would like to thank Pat Price for her Wonderful Christmas Window ... "Bringing in the Tree." It's Dedicated to the Children, Young and Old of Port Perry. Yb Aye Li NOTS ABOUT CHOCONIE Her inspiration is Tedric Bearington, leader of bears and mice. His imagination's so large, he can't fit in the window. Have a Tasty Christmas! Nuts about Chocolate 182 QUEEN ST. PORT PERRY 985-0761 Quality and service like they used to be.