St. Andrews Auxiliary once again honored its dedicated volunteers at its annual luncheon on June 3, held at the Newagen Seaside Inn on Southport.

Auxiliary President Carole Zalucky welcomed all to the luncheon, including 13 new members the auxiliary has gained since last October: Marti Booth, Ruth Davison, Joanne Demers, Sally Eastwood, Melanie Groneng, Pat McMurray, Jane Mulholland, Pam O'Connor, Debra Rush, Dee Wright and Meridith Watts.

“We have so many volunteers contributing to the betterment of this community,” Zalucky said.

She thanked the staff at Newagen, the lunch committee who planned the event, and especially Leslie Cook for driving the Portland the day before to pick up special roses for honorees.

This year's guests of honor were Paul and Giselaine Coulombe, whose donation to St. Andrews and LincolnHealth allowed the creation of the new Coulombe Health Center, improvements to the urgent care center, and renovation of the old Gregory Wing.

“The idea for the new center was all Bill Caron (President of MaineHealth)'s idea,” Coulombe said. “LincolnHealth is committed to finding better ways to service the needs of this community, and this shows that health services are here to stay. LincolnHealth is not leaving the Boothbay region and this is not the end, it's the beginning.”

President and CEO of Lincoln County Healthcare Jim Donovan also spoke.

“I am so impressed at the sheer number of hours given volunteering,” Donovan said. “Thank you for all you do, you are our ambassadors in the community and are so important as we try and look down the road of healthcare from taking care of the sick to taking care of the health of a community.”

Lunch was then served family-style, which was grilled chicken breasts, shrimp skewers, and a pasta dish with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh spinach, followed by assorted desserts. Many of the volunteers remarked on the high quality of the food, especially the chicken.

After lunch the volunteers heard from Cindy Wade, vice president and chief operations officer of LincolnHealth, and Anni Pat McKenney, program coordinator of the new Coulombe Health Center.

Wade praised the work of the volunteers and thanked the Coulombes for their generous gift, and descried the changes the gift had made to the St. Andrews campus, especially the increased privacy measures for patients in the urgent care center. She described working to put an IV in a patient, where the only thing separating three beds was a set of curtains, and getting bumped by the doctor working at the next bed.

“It's a real face-lift, it's beautiful,” Wade said.

McKenney talked about the shifting focus of healthcare, how instead of making people well the focus has become keeping people well — and out of hospitals in the first place.

“The predominate diseases we see are no longer infectious, but chronic,” McKenney said. “We are starting to focus more upstream in the process to help better before (these diseases take hold).”

Zalucky said that since April 1, 2014, a total of 9,255 logged hours have been volunteered by auxiliary members. Seventy-five percent of those hours were spent manning the thrift shop, which includes not only running the front counter but also sorting donations, pricing, hanging, folding, polishing, and a dozen other daily tasks.

Those interested in becoming members should contact Leslie Cook, the volunteer chair, or visit the Auxiliary Thrift Shop in the Meadow Mall.

Volunteers recognized were Joanne Demers, Sally Eastwood, Pam O'Connor, Richard Plunkett, Meredith Watts, and Elizabeth Wright (100 hours); Will Brinegar, Janice Pisano, and Norma Scala (200 hours); Suzanne Hamblen (300 hours); June Coffin, Leslie Cook, Susan Duckworth, Pat Gatto, Pieternella Harris, Betsey Kipp, Page Stearns, Beth Quick, and Julia Webster (400 hours); Ann Hedgecock, Jane Homer and Carole Zalucky (500 hours); Maren Fisher, Sheila Gaspar, Betty Goulette, Arlene Logan and Cindy Sanborn (600 hours); Susan Gelarden, Enid Johnson and Mary Pierce (700 hours); Louise Greene, Ann Kelley, Pam Reed and Dee Wright (800 hours); Leal Brinegar (900 hours); Joanne Annino (1,000 hours); Eleanor Dodge and Phyllis van Siclen (1,100 hours); the late Louise Royall (1,400 hours); Melanie Groneng and Linda Redman (1,500 hours); Rose Marie Kreppein (1,600 hours); Kathy Barter (1,700 hours); Joyce Duncan and Karen Gilbert (1,900 hours); Jennifer Brown (2,000 hours); Carol Lingard (2,200 hours); Joan Sandstrom and Holly Smith (2,400 hours); Kathy Bugbee (2,600 hours); Anne Butler, Ruth Davenport, and Carol Ostermann (2,800 hours); Kim Bradley (3,400 hours); and finally Penny Thumith, with a staggering total of 5,800 hours.