Hospital's (KEMH) Extended Care Unit. According to Sadie York, Council treasurer and board member of the Bermuda Health Alliance, its aim is to facilitate communication with its residents, their family, their friends and hospital staff. "The Residents' Family Council is a member of the Bermuda Health Alliance and as a committee, we represent the Extended Care Unit (ECU) at KEMH,'' said Mrs. York. "The ECU has a bed capacity of 104 and cares for nine day care patients. We encourage family members to visit on a regular basis. We feel their information and their input is needed and is beneficial to help their loved ones. "Our purpose is to provide a mechanism through which ECU residents, their family members, and friends, can develop a consensus and facilitate communication with each other and with staff and management. The idea is to improve their relationships with each

6 Communication vital part of ECU care family members and friends to discuss and explore their views and concerns about the ECU. We're providing an opportunity for residents, day care patients, staff, family members and friends to interact on a social level.'' To achieve such interaction, Mrs. York said communication is vital. `We encourage members to attend our meetings regularly, at which time they can voice their concerns and have them resolved as soon as possible. At meetings we also have various speakers from the department and the community and after, we have a question and answer period and printed information is distributed.'' Fundraising events are held twice a year to enable members of the ECU to travel abroad for vacation. In the past few years, she said, the eight to ten residents, accompanied by staff members have travelled to WindReach Farm in Toronto, Canada for one week. The capital campaign launched by the Alliance enabled the Council to replace its very worn bus used to transport its residents and day care patients. "A donation, made possible by the Health Alliance, was given to us by Cable and Wireless to purchase a bus. We were also given a donation by friends of ECU in memory of the Hon. Hugh Richards which we also used. However we recently received information that the bus we ordered several months ago is no longer being manufactured so the importers are trying to find us a similar one. It's difficult because it has to be wheelchair accessible with a hydraulic lift. It also has to be able to cope with difficult terrain. Ours is used on a daily basis for our day care persons and on holiday periods for residents.'' Tonight's telethon will help the Council in more ways than one, Mrs. York added. "As members the Residents' Family Council will be sending volunteers to help man the phones and representatives from various departments in the ECU will be speaking on TV.

Some of our residents will also be televised and are looking with anticipation to be part of this telethon. Our staff members are also looking to possibly heighten awareness of the role the resident family plays in the ECU unit and hoping that the telethon might encourage more volunteers to help with the residents.'' PHOTO Interaction is key at the Extended Care Unit of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. Here, resident Elliston Butterfield shows off his bass guitar to visiting Bermuda High School for Girls student, Francis Trott, and resident Eunice Smith The Bermuda Health Alliance (BHA) accepted a $60,000 donation from Cable & Wireless last year on behalf of its member charity, the Residents Family Council operating for the Extended Care Unit (ECU) at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. The funds will be used to purchase a specialised van to transport the ECU patients. The gift is part of the $5 million capital campaign launched by the BHA on behalf of its member charities. Pictured from left are Alliance campaign chairperson, Jane Spurling, Residents Family Council chairman Sadie York and Cable & Wireless general manager, John Tibbles HEALTH HTH