Butler Memorial Hospital patients wished well by nearly 1,000 students
The treatment for patients at Butler Memorial Hospital this week called for a dose of holiday cheer, which was delivered Monday, Dec. 23, by high school students.
Reese Sequite, a sophomore and member of the swim team at Butler Senior High School, organized the initiative that got students at all of the school district’s elementary schools involved. Nearly 1,000 students made and colored Christmas and holiday cards over the past few weeks, and members of the high school swim team delivered them to patients at Butler Memorial Hospital on Monday.
Reese, who donned Christmas apparel for the delivery job, said the idea was partially inspired by her time in the hospital’s Junior Auxiliary program during the summer.
“I came up with the idea because I wanted to bring some holiday cheer to them,” Reese said. “I want to be a doctor, so I love helping people.”
Karen Allen, president of Butler Memorial Hospital, spoke to the students before they embarked on their delivery journey. She commended them for their efforts.
“It’s a little thing that gives them a little cheer,” Allen said.
The cards created by the students of Broad Street, Center Township, Connoquenessing, Emily Brittain, McQuistion, Northwest and Summit Township elementary schools depicted colorful drawings of Christmas imagery. Some were premade drawings that were colored in by the students, and others were completely original pictures with personally created messages.
Reese said she and the swim team were able to get students to work on the cards in their art classes.
“They are handmade, but it’s all the Butler elementary schools, and probably 1,000 students that made cards,” Reese said. “I emailed all the principals, all the elementary schools, and the art teachers said they would make it a project to make cards for patients.”
Reese maintained some contact with the hospital after participating in its Junior Auxiliary program, which was revamped this year from the Candy Striper program.
Ronee Haller, coordinator of the Junior Auxiliary at the hospital, said about 50 students from 10 area high schools participated in the revamped program over the summer. The students, who were going into grades 10 through 12, got to work with hospital staff in different departments.
According to Haller, Reese and many of the students who took part in the Junior Auxiliary program relayed to hospital staff that they enjoyed getting to experience working at a hospital. Through the program, the students got a firsthand look at hospital work by shadowing employees of the hospital, which included meeting with patients alongside the health care professionals.
“They liked the patient contact,” Haller said. “They liked being able to shadow different doctors and … things that they wouldn’t get exposure to.”
Troy Kroll, head coach of the high school swim team attended the card drop-off Monday. He said he and the other coaches encourage students to be involved in the community.
“We’re trying to make more of an effort to do this more often,” Kroll said. “We wanted to give them as many experiences serving others. We’re not just a team that swims, we’re here, we’re part of the community, we want to help others.”
The 20 or so students who went to the hospital Monday carried shopping bags filled with cards to patients on different floors, some of whom were going to be in the hospital for a while. Hospital staff led the students to patient rooms, where the students greeted people and gave them one of the holiday cards from the bag.
Although some patients were hooked up to machines in their hospital beds and expecting to undergo major procedures, they still relayed a “merry Christmas” to the students they met.
Kroll said Reese pitched the idea to the swim team, and even though Butler Senior High School students are on winter break, almost every member of the team went to the hospital Monday morning to help deliver the cards.
“It’s a great way to not only get together as a team, but help others,” Kroll said. “Almost everyone is here today.”
Haller said she received good feedback from patients about their interactions with students in the Junior Auxiliary program, which likely would be repeated after the card delivery.
“A bunch of them visited with patients … For the most part, they really enjoyed seeing them out and about,” Haller said of the patient feedback.
Dave Orth, of Butler, was admitted to the hospital last week and said although he isn’t too upset to be there over Christmas, getting cards delivered by high school students was a nice gesture. He is scheduled for open-heart surgery at the hospital.
“Oh yeah, it’s nice,” Orth said after being visited by a group of students. “I build hot rods, and I look at it that the heart is just like a fuel pump. You put new fuel rods on it, and it’s going to run great.”
