Samaritan Auxiliary Highlights:

• The 2024 One Night, One Diamond event was held at The Peak on Fort Drum, and through the generosity of our sponsors, donors, and ticket holders, Samaritan Auxiliary was able to present a check to Samaritan for $65,000 to support the purchase of the UroNav Biopsy System for Samaritan Urology.
• The 2023 One Night, One Diamond proceeds of $87,661 purchased the BioFire Modules for the Samaritan Laboratory and supported the purchase of the Hologic Breast PACS System, while the 2022 event proceeds purchased UVDI disinfection UV light and supported the purchase of the Neurovirtual Sleep Diagnostic Systems for the Samaritan Sleep Lab, totaling $110,322.97 presented to Samaritan.
• Supported four Uniform Sales for Samaritan staff throughout the year through the local vendor, The Scrub Hub.
• Provided two $1500 scholarships to Samaritan employees to further their education in the healthcare field.
• Held a Grand Opening in February of the SIPS by Samaritan Auxiliary Coffee Shop in its new location in the Medical Center Lobby.
• Managed the Auxiliary Gift Shops at Samaritan Medical Center and Samaritan Summit Village. Volunteers working in the gift shops provide hours of dedicated service to help the Auxiliary achieve its goals, with proceeds from the shops supporting scholarships for employees and the purchase of equipment such as the items listed below.
• Recently purchased stuffed animals for children receiving services in the Samaritan Outpatient Pediatric Surgical Department, purchased a Hygiene Monitoring Meter for Housekeeping, support literature and items for The Walker Center for Cancer Care that explain to children their parent’s cancer diagnosis, and provided patients with the Watertown Daily Times newspaper. Past purchases included coloring books, crayons, crossword puzzles, and puzzles for the Behavioral Health Unit patients in the Emergency Department and for patients on 4 Pavilion, NeeDoh Balls that are used to provide stress relief to patients in the Inpatient Mental Health Unit and help with motor skills in the Acute Rehabilitation Unit, two handheld ultrasound dopplers for Interventional Radiology, as well as partially supported the purchase of an ABI tool for the Samaritan Wound Center.
• Continued our community advocacy programs in Jefferson County with the WHALE (We Have A Little Emergency) child safety seat ID program and That’s Using Your Head, a helmet ID safety program, in conjunction with our Kinney Drugs Foundation partner.
• Over the course of the 129 years of Auxiliary volunteers’ hard work and dedication, many millions of dollars have been given to Samaritan to enhance patient care. This volunteer work continues today, with volunteers providing many hours of dedicated service to help achieve these goals.