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Re a NY a aT in, eR nl a ~ Women at PGH working wonders Sa ai me EE Ser -- The Penetanguishene General Hospital is trying to cope with more than just physical and psychological problems. It wants to understand emotional sickness as well. Through a new program introduced at the PGH, two concern- ed hospital workers say they can do just that. Sister Mary Anne Bondy and Mrs. Jean Wagg have started something which has the potential to grow into something which they never imagined; to surpass their initial intertions and affect the whole community. The program is called Road Less Travelled, a title taken from a book by M. Scott Peck, a psychiatrist with a few ideas about life. If there is any technique or method to Road Less Travelled it is exceedingly simple. There are no books to buy, conventions to at- tend or tests to pass but as Wagg says there are usual- ly no unsatisfied par- ticipants either. Those participants meet in small groups of preferably 8 to 12. They spend the next 2 and one half hours together and repeat the procedure for 20 sessions in total. A meeting' is all about talking about your pro- blems and learning how to cope with those problems. Wagg says a variety of professional men and women are doing just that. "Often around midlife we get to appreciate more of life. This is when the crises occur - a death in the famialy, a prolonged il- Iness, the general concerns about mortality which didn't seem so important when we were young - and when we go through a crisis can accept one of two choices: give in to the crisis or become stronger than the crisis," Wagg says. She insists that suc- cessfully coming through a crisis situation ensures per- sonal growth. "Sometimes we can't grow unless we are forced to do so." Everything discussed at a meeting is done so in confidence. "We don't talk about people," Sister Bon- dy says "we talk about pro- blems. Program _par- ticipants share their ex- periences and various ways in which they've responded to _ their experiences. "There is some teaching in the course but it is almost completely ex- periential. We learn more from doing it ourselves in- stead of having it forced upon us." Road Less Travelled claims that a person's character is formulated by his parents. He will generally inherit - indeed emulate - the same traits that characterised his mother and father, both good and bad. "We learn from our parents, we learn how to act from our parents, we learn how to respond to our environment. If we don't change we'll turn out just like our parents; we'll repeat the same mistakes, make the same poor deci- sions: we'll fail where they have failed." Wagg calls the program a perfect blend of psychology and theology. It combines love with self-evaluation. That self-evaluation is achieved through a process called '"'guided fantasy." Somewhat meditative in conception, a guided fan- tasy is an internalised trip into your own past. You go back to previous events which dominate your life in the present; you ferret out resentment which is reducing your happiness today. From there, Bondy says you can "repair some of the damage." Wagg says that words never equal actions. "You the United Church and belongs to the Roman should say a lot about the might talk about something or someone for your entire life: all you're doing is destroying yourself and preventing yourself from solving the problem. Only action is worth anything in this life." The results have been phenomenal. Bondy says that after six weeks "peo- ple have begun to change; they begin to realise that they don't have to stay the same." The two women certain- ly didn't have mammoth ambitions for the course when they initiated the idea in September. But they both admit that it will be pretty difficult to restrain the momentum of the response. It's a popular meeting to attend. One course is being run concomitant with another. So that means 35 hospital workers and volunteers are currently being affected. Bondy reports a tremen- dous response from these. "Feelings of wor- thlessness and frustration are being left at the meeting. Lives are really being changed,"she says. Because of the over- whelming response, Bondy and Wagg want to move the program out of the hospital and into the community. "We're training leaders for tomorrow's courses. I this benefits a few people at the hospital it can cer- tainly benefit a lot of peo- ple in the community," Wagg says. Bondy suggests that 12 is the optimum number of people in one session. Too small a group allows for less interrelating; too many creates fewer direct participants. "But people are hurting out there and there is a de- mand for a course like this. It respects no religion above another. I belong to Winterama on the move Winterama is back and it's bigger than ever. Winterama is that dynamic little group that makes this community of Penetanguishene such an exciting place to live. It sponsors events, has a gargantuan social cons- cience and generally pro- motes the people, places and power of Penetanguishene. It had its first meeting last week and has named its executive. The Chairman is that versatile councillor Bob Sullivan; The Vice- Chairperson is Frances St. Laurent; the Treasurer is Jake Reimer; the Public Relations man is Bill Stevens; and the Secretary is Joyce Sauve. They've only just gotten organised again but to no one's surprise they've already planned their first event. And what a time it's going to be. Are you ready for this? It's going to be a charity hockey game and they're going to bring the CJOH "No Stars'"' in from Ott- tawa to make it interesting. That's going to happen on Nov. 22 so let's anxiously await the return of the Winterama stars, people who make this town a special place to live. Sister Mary Ann here < Just can't keep the enthusiasm bottled up Catholic Church, so that character of our group." Sister Mary Anne Bondy and Mrs. Jean Wagg have a lot to smile about. Through their Road Less Travell- ed program, over 30 people have had their lives chang- ed at Penetang's General Hospital. The course lasts "We practise Christian love," Bondy says. for 20 weeks and involves intensive self-analysis com- bined with Christian love. Although it's only open to hospital workers and volunteers right now, we might see it expand in the next few months. Maple syrup is sweet for hospital The Queen of the Elmvale Maple Syrup Festival was in town the other day to redistribute some of that royal wealth. Linda Fleming a grade 12 student from Elmvale District High School was crowned last April at the annual festival which glories in maple syrup appreciation. Fleming and her maple syrup princesses, Terry Clark and Heather Stone, came to the Penetanguishene General Hospital to present the in- tensive care unit with a cheque for $1000. Head nurse Edna Todd DER The Queen and her princesses The Queen of the Elmvale Maple Syrup Festival was in Penetanguishene last week to come to the aid of the intensive care unit of Penetang's General Hospital. She brought a cheque for $1000 to enable the hospital 'to buy more monitoring units. From left to right that's was extremely pleased to see the money. It will be used to renovate the inten- sive care unit in the hospital. Central monitor- ing devices have been in- stalled in the hospital and this has greatly increased the speed the hospital can respond to a patient's need with. Central monitoring is achieved through a com puter which reads a pa- tient's vital signs, such as heart beat and blood pressure. Body activity is constantly charted and if the wrong signs are reported, the nurses can know about it right away. Heather Stone, Terry Clarke and Queen Linda Flem- ing presenting the good news to Head Nurse Edna Todd. In the background one of the monitoring units posed for the picture as well.