|Photo by Emma Delk| Wheeling Hospital leadership gathered on Wednesday to receive the donation for the Good Samiritan Fund from Wheeling Hospital Auxiliary members. From left, Wheeling Hospital Vice President and General Counsel Bruce Archer, Wheeling Hospital Volunter/Guest Services Manager Sheri Harvey, Wheeling Hospital Auxiliary President Elect Carol Adams, Wheeling Hospital Auxiliary President Shirley Dvorcek, President of Foundations and Community Relations for Wheeling Hospital and Reynolds Memorial Hospital Jessica Rine and Wheeling Hospital Chief Operating Officer Kareen Simon.

A $10,000 check from the Wheeling Hospital Auxiliary to the Good Samaritan Fund will support and fund treatments for WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital patients in need.

The Good Samaritan Fund provides aid to patients, including covering medication costs, gas money for travel to appointments and other areas of treatment that patients in need may have difficulty paying for themselves.

“Essentially, the Good Samaritan fund is for the auxiliary needs of our patients,” explained Jessica Rine, Associate Vice President of Foundations and Community Relations for WVU Medicine Wheeling and Reynolds Memorial hospitals. “If somebody comes through the ER and they need a prescription, oftentimes if they don’t have the finances, they will not get that prescription filled. These funds will go to those types of services.”

The auxiliary’s recent contribution to the fund is not its first, as the donation was motivated by the depletion of funding from the organization’s original grant to the Good Samaritan Fund.

As the first round of funding from the organization ran low, the number of patients in need continued to grow due to the recent flooding in the area creating additional financial hardships for patients.

Rine said the auxiliary’s recent donation would “definitely help” any underprivileged patients who come through the hospital’s doors. She noted that the Samaritan Fund has helped provide gas cards for patients to get to and from appointments.

“We will continue to raise money for the Good Samaritan Fund,” added Rine. “This donation will help start the Good Samaritan Fund again, so we will continue to fundraise with the auxiliary to support this initiative.”

Wheeling Hospital Auxiliary President Shirley Dvorcek explained that the funding from the donation would be provided for patients who qualify based on their financial needs. She noted that the foundation’s previous grant helped supply prescriptions, wheelchairs and other treatment items for patients.

Wheeling Auxiliary President-Elect Carol Adams added that the auxiliary is a “totally volunteering-based organization,” and its community volunteering efforts help raise money for the Good Samaritan Fund donation.

“Many members spend many hours working in the community and the hospital,” explained Adams. “We also have vendor sales that employees participate in with our auxiliary.”

Both Adams and Dvorcek encourage anyone interested in the auxiliary to join, with Adams adding that the group was “definitely not all work and no play.”

“We have many opportunities to serve, such as manning a table at a bake sale or running a basket raffle,” noted Adams. “Plus we have dinners a few times a year and help with the Boo at the Zoo in Oglebay, so there are a lot of opportunities for members to have fun.”

For both auxiliary members, bringing smiles to patients’ faces makes their fundraising efforts worth it.

“We just get excited when we see how our work can improve people’s lives,” said Dvorcek.

The auxiliary’s next fundraising event is its annual reverse raffle, which will take place on June 16 at the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack.

“The upcoming reverse raffle is our biggest fundraiser,” noted Dvorcek. “That event helps us fund scholarships and supports these kinds of donations in the future.”