The Community Service Department met at The Cherry Tree Tea Room on Sept. 16 for their first meeting of the year.

The program was entitled, New Ideas-Spohn Kleberg Hospital, and Mr. McBride was our speaker.

The hospital is trying to provide excellent health care close to home. New administration, new attitude is their theme. The hospital is seeing about 45-50 in-patients per day and about 100 outpatients are seen for X-rays, lab work and other tests. Fifty patients travel through the emergency room daily.

There are about 30 babies delivered each month, although in August, 41 babies were delivered.

McBride reported The Colston Family Rehabilitation and Wellness Center provides physical, occupational, speech, and aquatic therapy. They also provide exercise classes and massage therapy.

To date 200 people are enrolled for exercise at the center. In July the hospital received a new digital Mammogram machine. With the new machine, mammograms are much faster and more accurate. On Oct. 3 the hospital will offer free mammogram screenings and also prostate screenings.

If time does not allow the test to be performed that day, vouchers will be issued. Several new doctors are expected to be part of the hospital staff and more are being recruited.

Future plans are in motion to renovate the I.C.U Department and also The Emergency Department.

The hospital is over 30 years old and older equipment is being repaired or replaced. Several new pieces of medical equipment have been purchased to provide better care, particularly if we have a severe flu season.

There are 83 volunteers at Christus Spohn, several of which are members of the Community Service Department.

Our department was formed to provide service to the community. We were the beginning of the “Pink Ladies” at the hospital.

Volunteers help to make the hospital a comfortable place to come to. Many thanks to Mr. McBride for sharing hospital updates with us.

Jean Claire Turcotte began the business part of the meeting. The 100th anniversary Kingsville Woman’s Club cookbooks are on sale now and we will also be selling pecans once again this year.

To celebrate our 100th anniversary, on Dec. 5 at the Woman’s Club building there will be a Pecan Cook Off. Bobby Nix of the NOW Department will chair this event.

The Kingsville Symphony Orchestra will perform at King High School on Nov. 21. Members of the Kingsville Woman’s Club will be hostesses.

There will be no Young Performers Competition this year. The general meeting will be held on September 28 at The Cherry Tree Tea Room.

Mrs. Melba Gafford of the FLAIR Department will collect paperback books to send to M.D. Anderson.

Those involved in sewing quilts for Operation Smile, please bring them to the meeting.

Our next meeting will be Oct. 21 and our speaker will be Edwina Alvarez from the Kingsville Food Bank.