Community

Vegas in the Ville coming to Barnesville

BARNESVILLE -- WVU Medicine Barnesville Hospital is offering a night of fun and games this spring and a chance to help raise money to purchase some needed equipment.

The "Vegas in the Ville" fundraiser is scheduled for 7-11 p.m. April 13 at the Shepherd Farm Barn and Event Center in Bethesda. It will benefit the ProCuity hospital bed campaign.

The night will include Vegas-style gaming, including blackjack, Texas hold 'em poker, and roulette. Each person will start with $500 in gambling chips and enjoy a complimentary strip of raffle basket tickets. In addition to the gaming, the fundraiser will feature raffle baskets, a 50/50 drawing, tip boards, refreshments, an auction and live entertainment.

Donna White, hospital manager of grants and community development, described the fundraiser.

"We have a hospital bed campaign that we are raising money for," White said. "We are working on sponsorships and things like that now to help with that in Bethesda and try and gather chamber members for help."

She said people are able to RSVP online to pay. Information is also on the hospital's Facebook page.

"We're trying to get the word out now," she said, adding that the beds are costly and the hospital has begun advertising early.

"In Barnesville, we are in need of 22 security Stryker hospital beds," she said. "They run about $15,000 apiece, per bed. It's a large project that we're doing, so we're trying to gather funds in a way of doing a fundraiser. We are putting money into grants. We did an end-of-the-year campaign out there. We sent out letters to our community for donations to help defray the cost. It'll be an ongoing project all year long.

"They are completely wireless beds, and it is a state-of-the-art type bed that will be beneficial to our patients, so it will not only bring a lot of comfort to them, but it will have a lot of safety features that will help our patients at Barnesville."

She said organizers are concentrating on the Vegas in the Ville event as the hospital's major fundraiser.

"As we go through the year, there may be other things that we add on, but right now that is our focus," she said.

"This is the first time that we are trying to do this," White said. "We manage both Barnesville Hospital and we manage Harrison Community Hospital out in Cadiz, so between the two, our goal is to do a fundraiser out in that area, possibly in the fall. We need to raise funds for them as part of the hospital bed campaign. It's just a vital part of something that we need for our patients, so this is the route we're trying to go about doing it."

She said the beds will be appreciated by both staff and patients.

"Any way we can get the word out," she said. "It's for all the patients that use us in Barnesville on a continued basis, and it's a vital part of their recovery.

"Some of the other WVU hospitals that we have in the system also are going that route and getting those beds. It's something that's been well-researched and something that WVU Medicine recommends for us to do."

David Hacker, vice president of operations, welcomed the public.

"WVU Medicine Barnesville Hospital is proud to present this unique fundraising event,"

Hacker said. "All the proceeds from this event will benefit our ProCuity Bed Campaign, which will be used to purchase new inpatient beds for our facility. Be sure to join us to support a great cause."

Tickets can be purchased online at weblink.donorperfect.com/VegasintheVilleRSVP. The deadline to purchase tickets is April 5.

For more information on Barnesville Hospital, visit WVUMedicine.org/Barnesville.