Cary Medical Center has announced a number of events in celebration of National Hospital Week May 10 through May 16, including a special film showing and launch of its Facebook page.
Highlighting the week will be a free showing of the documentary film “Age of Champions,” part of the Camden Film Festival’s series “Aging in Maine.” In the film, athletes prepare for the 2009 National Senior Games: a 100-year-old tennis player from Cape Cod; brothers from Washington, D.C., in their 80s who swim; a Texas widower who finds solace in training and his rival, an 86-year-old champion in field events intent on the world’s record in the pole vault for persons over 80; and a women’s basketball team from Louisiana who are hair-dos and drawls off the court, but tigers on the floor.
Viewers watch the athletes train and talk about why they compete, and family members and friends comment. One of the brothers undergoes cancer treatment. Then it’s on to San Francisco to go for the gold. The film will be shown in the Chan Center at Cary on Saturday, May 16th from 10 a.m.-12 noon. Bill Flagg, director of community relations and development at Cary, said that the film will be part of a series that will continue through the rest of 2015.
“The ‘Aging in Maine’ series has some very powerful material, from this exciting and inspirational film on senior athletes to coping with the end of life. The film series is thought-provoking and will hopefully lead to some open discussion for seniors and their families,” he said. “We are so pleased that the people at the Camden Film Festival were open to working with us.”
Cary will also formally launch the hospital’s Facebook page on Monday, May 11. Flagg said social media is so much of a reality in communications today that the hospital must take the opportunity to utilize the medium.
“Facebook has become such a powerful tool for communicating with a multi-generational audience and it is so immediate that we believe it can be very useful in providing positive health information, schedules of events, updates on hospital activity, presenting new services,” he said. “It is just so flexible and current. We hope to generate as many likes as possible with this formal launch and continue to build over the coming months.”
Also on Monday, May 11, the hospital will host a clergy appreciation luncheon at 12 noon in the Chan Center. Flagg said this has become a National Hospital Week tradition at Cary to acknowledge the great service provided by area clergy.
“The spiritual needs of our patients are, at times, as important as their clinical needs,” he said. “We so much appreciate the work of area clergy and they mean so much to our patients and staff. We look forward to this event each year and we hope that many area clergy will join us.”
The National Hospital Week activity continues with a free blood pressure clinic on Tuesday, May 12th from 8 a.m.-12 noon at Hannaford Supermarket in Caribou.
On Wednesday, May 13, Steve Michaud, president of the Maine Hospital Association, will do a special National Hospital Week talk at the Caribou Rotary Club.
A media appreciation breakfast will be held on Thursday, May 14 at 7:30 in the Chan Center. Representatives of all area media have been invited to attend the breakfast, hosted by Kris Doody, RN, CEO at Cary.
On Friday, May 15, Cary will participate in the Senior Driver Expo at the Fort Fairfield Community Center from 9 a.m.-12 noon. The event is sponsored by Cary, Maine AAA, Pines Health Services and the Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to this activity Cary will join the other three hospitals in the County in the Hospitals Against Hunger food drive. People are asked to bring non-perishable items to the hospital from May 10-21.
For more information on Hospital Week activities, contact the Office of Community Relations and Development at 498-1112.
