Denbigh Griffith Lions donate to family health team

Oct 30, 2014

by Angela Bright

The Denbigh Griffith Lions Club, formed in 1998, is part of Lions Clubs International, which is the world's largest service club organization. The Lions' motto is "We Serve" and our local Lions are part of a global service network, doing whatever is necessary to help our local communities. The club, at a current count of 24 members, donates about $20,000 each year to a variety of projects and causes. One of the current major initiatives is to donate $25,000 over five years ($5000 per year) to the Lakelands Family Health Team (LFHT) in Denbigh. On Wednesday, October 22, at a club meeting, the official cheque presentation and most recent installment was presented to, and gratefully accepted by, Janice Powell of LFHT. Powell shared that while she was not intending to stay on for more than a few years, it has become her passion and she is now in year four with LFHT. Working to gain the services currently in place and others that may be realized down the road, has, and is her objective. This money is a part of how that happens and thus, patients have the opportunity to have more tests completed locally. The Denbigh Clinic serves the greater communities of Denbigh, Griffith, Matawatchan and the surrounding area, and has increased access to primary health care for residents of this remote and isolated area. Patients now have more access to a physician and nurses, as well as access to a nurse practitioner, a dietitian, a mental health counselor, and an advanced foot care specialist, in their home community. LFHT offers several programs (hypertension, diabetic, smoking cessation, Healthy You: Weight Management), and preventative care. Emergency care is also provided at the Denbigh site.

As far as the fund raising end of things go, Lion Bill Shipley summed it up; “If it's not fun, it's no fun at all and not worth doing.” With the amount of money that has been raised for projects like the LFHT, the Lions are definitely having fun doing it.