Newburyport Holiday House Tour Supporting the AJH Aid Association

By Adair Rowland, Newburyport.com Correspondent
Adair Rowland is a marketing communications writer and editor who arrived in Newburyport over thirty years ago. Her kids may have left town, but she only strayed as far as Amesbury. A long-time contributor to the literary and performing arts community, she finds just as much local color in the stories behind stores and businesses (and really likes writing about that).

The 2022 Newburyport Holiday House Tour, a fundraiser supporting the Anna Jaques Hospital Aid Association is this Saturday, December 10th from 10am to 4pm. Purchase tickets on-line or in-person at the Anna Jaques Hospital Gift Shop or Chococoa Baking Co. & Café at The Tannery Marketplace. Pick up your tour book at the Newburyport Senior Center at 331 High Street, where a Holiday Gift Market and Winter Wreath auction will be in full swing with live music and refreshments. The self-guided tour allows you to enjoy the full range of homes and outdoor décor in whatever order you choose.

The Holiday House Tour is celebrating a full return after the limitations of the last several years. The tour guide offers history and context to each of the lavishly decorated homes and private residences from High Street to High Road and beyond. Groupings in the North and South End highlight Newburyport’s signature Federalist and Greek Revival houses, plus architectural reproductions and contemporary updates to re-invigorate ideas of gracious living. One of the homes was recently featured on the popular TV series, This Old House. Three residents on the tour have expanded their décor to fanciful exterior scenes, while others are exclusively outdoor dioramas, making this year’s program a hybrid of seasonal delights.

A beloved highlight of the Advent season, the Holiday House Tour is an occasion for friends and family to visit a showcase of neighborhoods and gather inspiration for winter entertaining of their own. The creativity of local florists and decorators displays the myriad of ways a home can be dressed up and decked out. From house to house, the panorama of bejeweled trees and festive greenery offers a glimpse of personalized traditions. Holiday tables are brimming with cheer before any meal is served, and there’s a sense that the stage is set for joyful get-togethers all over town.

Back at Newburyport’s spacious Senior Center, The Holiday Market offers gift ideas ranging from gingerbread to jewelry. Favorite retailers and artisans represent dozens of “finds” in one place while the People’s United Methodist Church provides a helping of live jazz, and complementary chowder will be served between noon and 1:30.

Each year, the generosity of Newburyport’s homeowners and countless volunteers make the Holiday House Tour possible, all to benefit the Anna Jaques Hospital Aid Association. The welcome of neighbors throughout the community also helps support the well-being of its residents. For those slow to feel the stir of the holiday spirit, buy a ticket — The bustle and beauty of this event may be just the lift you’re looking for!

AJH Healthcare Heroes Fund – Your Donation Helps Support Local!

By Mary Williamson, Newburyport.Com Correspondent
Executive Director of the Anna Jaques Hospital Community Health Foundation, Mary brings more than 25 years of well-rounded management and fundraising experience grounded in relationship and community building. Her multi-faceted expertise will advance the philanthropic activities that support the sustainability and strategic initiatives of Anna Jaques Hospital.
Anna Jaques Hospital

AJH Healthcare Heroes Fund, Newburyport MA

A gift to the Anna Jaques Hospital, AJH Healthcare Heroes Fund provides immediate resources to our nurses, physicians and hospital leaders to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an opportunity to help give back to folks in our local community who put themselves and their families at risk daily. All donations made through the AJH Healthcare Heroes fund stay local and are used to provide support for frontline workers serving our community.

The AJH Healthcare Heroes fund helps provide us with critical resources needed right now to be here for our community. We have reconfigured hospital spaces to accommodate more patients (and training staff to care for patients in a different setting), expanding ICU capacity, and procuring additional equipment and supplies. We have set up telehealth capabilities enabling patients to be cared for while maintaining social distancing, and have postponed non-urgent elective procedures, visits, appointments and surgeries. Your support will help to address these efforts and other emergency responses, and it is critically needed.

Please make a gift now to the Healthcare Heroes Fund by clicking here. If you make your gift in honor of a provider, we will let them know that they have inspired your giving!

If you wish to speak with the Anna Jaques Hospital Community Health Foundation, please contact Mary Williamson by email or at 978-463-1211. As always, all gifts to Anna Jaques Hospital remain here, serving our community. Thank you for your consideration of the AJH Healthcare Heroes Fund. Every donation helps make a difference!

Anna Jaques Hospital is a not-for-profit community hospital based in Newburyport, MA. AJH is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health and has a long history of providing top quality medical care for residents of the Merrimack Valley, North Shore and Southern New Hampshire. Not only is Anna Jaques Hospital a critical health resource for the community but the hospital is also a very important employer to many families providing jobs for over 1,200 individuals within the community.

Anna Jaques Hospital, AJH Aid Association Presents Annual Gift

Anna Jaques Hospital, AJH Aid Association Annual Gift

On October 17th, 2019 at its 131st Annual Meeting, the Anna Jaques Hospital, AJH Aid Association presented a check to AJH for $130,000. Mary Ann Abbott, President of the AJH Aid Association presented a check to Mark Goldstein, President & CEO, David LaFlamme, chair of the Anna Jaques Board of Trustees and Matt Khatib, Chair of the Anna Jaques Community Health Foundation.

The funds were designated to the following areas: assist underinsured and uninsured low-to-moerate income patients in Seabrook

Assist underinsured and uninsured low-to-moderate income patients in Seabrook, NH
AJH Birth Center
Comprehensive Pain Center
Cardiac Cath/Interventional
Radiology Suite
Pediatric Psychiatric Unit

The Aid Association’s success is attributed to annual events like Great Chefs’ Night, the AJH Gift Shop, the beloved bake sales and plants sales, the art display and sales program, and the Holiday Arts & Craft Fair, to name a few. These events also reflect the important role that the Aid Association plays as they bring together local businesses, community leaders, hospital supporters, and philanthropic individuals in support of its community hospital. The Anna Jaques Aid Association works closely with the Anna Jaques Community Health Foundation which also helps raise funds for the hospital.

For more details, visit AJH Aid Association

Staying Healthy and Safe This Summer

By Anna Jaques Hospital, Newburyport.com Correspondent
Anna Jaques Hospital is an independent, not-for-profit community hospital serving 17 cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley, North Shore and Southern New Hampshire.
Anna Jaques Hospital

Summertime in Newburyport brings beautiful weather, trips to the beach, outdoor activities, celebrations, and vacation fun. With that can also come accidents and injuries – big and small. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – the Anna Jaques Hospital Gerrish Family Foundation Emergency Department is here to provide advanced ER, emergency services right in the community.

ER Features:

Fast track services for minor injuries
Level III Trauma Center
Radiology
Laboratory
Consults/Referrals across 50 specialties
Tele-stroke service with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Diagnostic Imaging (CT Scan, MRI, etc.)
Access to more in-network providers
MedFlight helicopter service to Boston if needed

Entrance/access to the ER is located at 23 Rawson Ave., Newburyport, MA. To learn more, visit www.ajh.org/ER

Summer Safety Tips!

· Sun Protection: Wear light clothing and sunscreen, and reapply every few hours.

· Bug Safety: Avoid scented soaps, perfumes and hair sprays. Avoid stagnant pools of water, uncovered foods and gardens where flowers are in bloom. Use insect repellent and/or cover up with light clothing.

· Bee Sting: To remove a visible stinger from the skin, gently back it out by scraping it with a credit card or ﬁngernail.

· Heat Stress: Drink plenty of water, and take a break every 20 minutes while active in the heat.

· Car Safety: Never leave children or pets alone in a hot car, even for a few minutes.

· Pool Safety: Closely supervise children in the pool and never leave them alone, even for a moment. Swim with “buddies”. Secure gates and fences at all times.

· Open Water Swimming: Never swim alone. Teach children about rip currents – if you are caught in a rip current, swim parallel to shore until you escape the current, and then swim back to shore.

· Boating Safety: Wear life jackets at all times when on boats, docks or near bodies of water.

Celebrating Survivors – Couture for a Cure Brunch & Fashion Show

Couture for a Cure, Cancer Survivors, Newburyport

Celebrating Survivors – Couture for a Cure 2019 Brunch & Fashion Show will honor people in our community who have been impacted by cancer. On Sunday, October 20th from 12 – 2 pm, cancer survivors, their families and friends, and cancer caregivers will walk the pink carpet for a fashion show to celebrate their courage, beauty, and strength. Cheer on survivors and gather with family, friends and co-workers at the Blue Ocean Event Center in Salisbury, to honor someone in your life who has been impacted by cancer for an inspirational and fun Sunday brunch. Purchase tickets or sponsor a table soon, as this amazing event will sell out. If you are unable to attend donations are greatly appreciated.

Support Survivorship

Funds raised from Couture for a Cure will support survivorship programs available at the Gerrish Breast Care Center and Anna Jaques Cancer Center. Survivorship programs support patients as they manage life beyond cancer, including understanding the long-term effects of treatment, managing the risk of re-occurrence, and addressing the social, physical and psychological effects of survival.

Ways to get involved

Volunteer: Volunteers assist in every aspect of the event – before, during, after. Contact Suzanne Cap at 978-463-1176 or scap@ajh.org to learn about different opportunities
Silent Auction Donation
In-Kind dessert donation
Raise awareness and promote prevention during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, such as Pink Up the Port.
With questions or to learn more, contact: Mary Williamson, Vice President of Development, mwilliamson@ajh.org or 978-463-1211

History of the Event

For almost a decade, Anna Jaques Hospital and the Institution for Savings have partnered to raise awareness and promote the prevention of breast cancer in our community. The Institutions’ support has ranged from partnering on community events to raise awareness – to supporting the purchase of 3D Mammography at AJH for our community.

Over the years our efforts for the event have been aimed at educating and advocating for women to schedule their annual mammogram. We have celebrated the survival of coworkers, neighbors and friends and offered cancer patients support on their personal journeys. In 2018, we decided to kick it up a notch and showcased local breast cancer survivors as featured models in a fashion show luncheon event titled Couture for a Cure.

This year, we have changed the event from a mid-week luncheon to Sunday brunch so that families and friends can all gather in celebration of the strength, beauty and determination of survivorship.

2019 Great Chefs’ Night ~ Boots & Scrubs

Yee haw! Boots & Scrubs, the 2019 Anna Jaques Hospital Aid Association Great Chefs’ Night, will ride into town on Friday, April 5^th at the Blue Ocean Event Center in Salisbury, MA. Come dressed in your finest pair of jeans and cowboy boots, or favorite fancy duds. All to benefit Anna Jaques Hospital.

For more than 25 years, this signature event hosted by the Anna Jaques Hospital Aid Association has brought together employees, volunteers, board members, community leaders, and hospital supporters to enjoy food samplings from local restaurants and chefs, live entertainment, raffle prizes, a live auction, cash bar, and dancing.

Enter to win 2 fabulous Great Chefs’ Night raffles:

$5,000 jewelry raffle, donated by Matt and Karyn Khatib of M.K. Benatti Jewelers. Tickets: 1 for $20 or 3 for $50
$5,000 dream vacation, donated by BNY Mellon. Win a travel voucher for the destination of your choice. Tickets: 1 for $50

Thank you to this year’s Great Chefs’ Night presenting sponsor: Provident Bank.

For more information or to purchase event and/or raffle tickets, please visit www.ajh.org/aidassociation.

Make your health a top priority this 2019

In 2018, the top New Year’s resolutions in America were:

Get healthy
Get organized
Live life to the fullest

The best way to kick-off 2019, and strive to achieve all of these resolutions, is to make your health a top priority. For women, your health has many factors at play: family history, age, physical activity, stress, and lifestyle choices to name a few. Life can be very busy and women often put their family and other responsibilities before their own health.

*Try taking a day for yourself to get an annual screening, like a mammogram, and treat yourself afterwards with something you enjoy for taking the time to get checked. View the head-to-toe checklist and talk with your doctor – don’t let signs and symptoms linger.

At Women’s Health Care, our team of providers are dedicated to caring for women throughout their lifetime and are here to help you achieve your health goals. Schedule an appointment at our locations in Newburyport, Haverhill & Middleton at 978-556-0100 and ask for the office of your choice. Visit www.WHCobgyn.org to learn more.

AJH Community Health Foundation Annual “Fore Your Health” Golf Tournament

AJH Community Health Foundation, Fore Your Health

The Anna Jaques Hospital, AJH Community Health Foundation held its 28th Annual Fore Your Health Golf Tournament on August 13th at Renaissance Golf Club and raised over $128,000. Proceeds of the tournament will support MAKO™ robotic arm technology at the hospital.

Under the leadership of Byron Matthews, Chairman of the Golf Committee, the annual Fore Your Health tournament has generated over $2 million to support programs and services at AJH. Thank you to Byron and the committee of volunteers for their hard work and dedication to this event: Steve DeGuglielmo, Rich Doolan, Luis Fernandez, Dr. Kevin Gasiorowski, Tom Howard, Rob Kotarba, John Matthews, Mac McKay and Donna Twombly.

Congratulations to St. John’s Prep’s Drew Semons and Robbie Forti, who won the 12th Annual Byron Bowl High School Challenge, sponsored by SPS New England Inc. Thank you also to Amesbury, Hamilton-Wenham, Ipswich, Masconomet, Newburyport, and Triton high schools for participating in this year’s event.

About the AJH Community Health Foundation

Led by a volunteer Board of Trustees, the Anna Jaques Hospital Community Health Foundation works with the hospital and medical staff to provide the highest quality medical care to our patients and improve the health of our community. The Foundation supports these goals through community outreach and education, and seeks philanthropic support from grateful patients and community members, employees, foundations, and businesses through outright gifts, events, and planned giving, and works closely with the AJH Aid Association.

To find out ways to support Anna Jaques hospital visit www.ajh.org/become-a-donor