The weather gods shone on Millicent Hospital recently as there was mostly sunshine for its first Open Day in five years.
A “Town Fair” format was staged on the hospital grounds facing Mount Gambier Road with a range of fun activities, catering options and health information booths.
One of the most popular activities was tours of the operating theatres where day surgery is undertaken by visiting surgeons.
Theatre nurse Bonnie Ferguson and her colleagues helped to de-mystify the common colonoscopy procedure which assists in the detection of bowel cancer.
The theatres were the only interior portion of the hospital which was open for public inspection.
Hospital and town history was displayed by the Millicent-based South East Family History Group while there were first aid demonstrations and emergency services displays by the local CFS, SA Ambulance Service and SES.
There was keen competition for the so-called Bedpan Relay Trophy with all participants dressed in theatre scrubs.
The SAPOL team claimed the silverware after defeating teams comprising Millicent Hospital nurses and the other branches of the emergency services.
Catering was provided by the local Lions and Rotary clubs and commercial vendors while the Mike Moffatt Band added to the festive atmosphere with mellow music.
Volunteer groups manned information booths and shared their experiences with breast cancer, prostate cancer, women’s health and suicide prevention.
Among the dignitaries in attendance were Wattle Range Mayor Des Noll, regional director of nursing Michelle de Wit and Member for MacKillop Nick McBride.
The Open Day was staged by the Millicent Health Advisory Council and it had approached local businesses for sponsorship.
Numbers at the Millicent Hospital Open Day were not as high as in 2020 but there was no associated Fun Run as was the case five years go.
The Millicent township also hosted many other drawcards on the day including the annual junior basketball tournament, Millicent Choral Society Golden Jubilee Concert, JoJo Spook art exhibition opening, Wattle Range Photo Exhibition winners announced and the Croquet Come and Try Day.
