Donald Elder III, professor of History at Eastern New Mexico University, served as auctioneer for this year’s event.
In the back of the theater, there was a table where guests could buy quarters to bid with. Each bid required a certain amount of quarters, but winners were determined by whether or not their cup number was drawn, as well as if they had the required amount of quarters. When an item was announced, Elder would tell everyone how many quarters would be required for that bid, then he would pull a number to find the winner.
Many local businesses donated things to be auctioned, with prizes from a refillable cup for Taco Box to a two-person round trip flight to Dallas, Texas.
J’mi Call was the first winner, receiving a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey for a 50-cent bid, which she said was a steal.
Before the auction, attendees heard from two people, Rosie Jimenez and Thomas Elliott Fite, who were both helped by RGH.
Jimenez, who was at the auction, told everyone that she had no insurance when she went to a fair that RGH was hosting.
According to her, she didn’t think that anything was wrong. But after getting the results of her blood test in, someone from RGH called and asked her if she could come into the ER, where another blood test was done. Jimenez ended up receiving four units of blood.
Fite, who wasn’t there in person but had recorded his story, said that RGH saved his life. He went into the RGH clinic thinking he had the flu, however, according to Fite, the doctor asked all the right questions. He was taken to the ER, suffering from septic shock from a torn intestine, and was flown to Lubbock, Texas, a short time later.
“They kept me informed the entire time,” Fite said. “My journey to a second chance began at RGH.”
For the Love of RGH was hosted by the RGH Foundation, an organization that raises money and donates to the hospital year-round. With the money they have donated, RGH has put new privacy curtains in the ER, new televisions in patient rooms of the medical-surgical department, or Medsurg, new chairs in clinic rooms, and many other things.
According to officials, RGH is also hoping to have a new ER in the near future, as well as a new surgical services department. Currently, the ER only has three bays that are only separated by curtains, and there is no operating room or surgical services department. The plan is for the new ER to have 11 beds with full privacy.
