The High River District Health Care Foundation brought the community "Together Again" for a good cause last Saturday.

Foundation Executive Director Wendy Kennelly says this was her first dinner and auction, and she saw how highly regarded health care is in the area.

"We had a sell-out crowd so 410 of our closest friends came to join us and we're still doing a little bit of the paperwork but I'm really excited to tell you that we're in the $100,000 range for fundraising."

"We weren't really sure how that was going to turn out but the energy in the room was, everyone seemed so relieved to get back to something after (the pandemic). It was the 34th annual and many people have been coming for years so this was just a sign of getting back to things we enjoyed so much in the past and such a positive energy in the room," she says.

The theme of this year's dinner was Together Again.

"We couldn't think of a theme that would really address coming together as a community and getting back to normal if you want to call it that, so it seemed suitable for everybody to get warmed up and back in the practice of the raffles and the live auctions and all of that good stuff, it was fun."

That money goes to the purchase of 50 televisions for acute care rooms at the High River Hospital along with cable service for ten years so patients and their families won't be burdened with the cost.

"It's about a $250,000 project, they have to be very specialized televisions for all of the cleaning and sanitizing that they get here at the hospital but all of that money is going to make sure that we have 'no fee' service for the next ten years," Kennelly explained.

"We've got some partners on this project, we've got the Hospital Auxilliary and the Highwood Lions Club and combined we think we have enough revenue here now to at least order the equipment."

She is especially happy they'll be able to get them hooked up in time for those long winter nights when patients can certainly use a little relaxation to help pass the time that they're in hospital.