CEEH Auxiliary hosting thank-you event after successful capital campaign

A $20,000 campaign for a chest compression machine for Petrolia’s hospital wrapped up earlier this month, and the group behind it is hosting an event to say thanks.

“The community really, really came through,” said Nicole Newman with the CEEH auxiliary.

The group’s Project Thumper fundraising drive country for the Lund University cardiac arrest system (LUCAS) chest compression machine that’s already arrived and on which staff at Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital (CEEH) recently received training, Newman said.

The equipment is designed to free up medical personnel to do other things when CPR is required.

Plans always were to wrap up the campaign by June, Newman said.

“But we were overwhelmed by the support,” she said.

At 7 pm get-together at the Petrolia Legion Thursday called Heartbeat of a Small Town: A CEEH auxiliary and community success celebration, features light refreshments, information about the device, and a chance to meet and speak with people in the community who’ve made a difference, she said.

“It’s wonderful to be able to get together with the community and just say ‘We did it,’” she said.

The auxiliary group has more than 20 members who reinvest money raised through donations, and via the Charlotte’s Boutique gift shop in Petrolia’s hospital, into equipment for the hospital and into the community, she said.

They’re already considering their next project and are always seeking new members, she said.

The group’s 10th annual strawberry social — another community appreciation event featuring strawberries and ice cream — is 1-4 pm June 11 at the Kerr Cafe, by the Petrolia farmers’ market, she said.

Donations are accepted but not required, she said.

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