Beaufort Memorial Hospital Valentine Ball Planned For February 9

Story By Marie McAden

The social event of the season is coming our way. The 24th Valentine Ball will take place February 9 at the historic Lyceum on Parris Island.  As the signature fundraiser of the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation, the affair includes all the usual gala accoutrements—live music, decadent desserts and a silent auction.
“We do a lot of other things to build community support for Beaufort Memorial, but the Ball is our identity,” said Foundation Executive Director Alice Moss. “It’s what people associate with the BMH Foundation.”
Proceeds from this year’s ball will go towards the expansion and relocation of LifeFit Wellness Services, the Hospital’s medically supervised fitness and wellness center. Along with individual and group exercise, nutrition advice and personal counseling, LifeFit offers free health-related lectures, cancer education and support groups, smoking cessation programs, parenting classes and health fairs.
Around 700 people are expected to attend the soiree and the trademark pre-ball dinner parties held in private homes throughout the Beaufort area.
Organizing the fundraiser is a mammoth endeavor that requires the help of hundreds of community volunteers. Among them are the 50-some residents who will host the private dinner parties that serve as the warm-up for the gala.
Directing the 2013 affair are co-chairs George and Mary Lee Grove and BMH President and CEO Rick Toomey and his wife Dr. Linda Hawes.
“It’s such a great event,” said Hawes, who has attended the ball every year since moving to Beaufort in 2008. “It’s by far the best fundraiser I’ve ever been to.”
What sets the event apart from other charity functions is the pre-ball dinners held in some of the area’s finest residences. Between six to 12 couples are invited to each party, making it an intimate setting to meet new people. The hosts choose the menu for their own dinner and pick up the tab for all the food and beverages.
“It’s a lovely way to start the evening,” said Mary Lee Grove, who has hosted parties in past years and previously served as chairman of the ball’s dinner party committee.
Since its inception in 1990, the Valentine Ball has raised $3.7 million. The money has been used to upgrade technology throughout the hospital and expand and improve facilities and services in a wide range of areas from the cardiac cath lab to pediatric rehabilitation.
“Having a high-quality hospital is so important in a community,” Grove said. “The funds we raise from the Valentine Ball allow Beaufort Memorial to make a lot of capital improvements that improve care for all of us.”
The festivities begin at 6 p.m. with the pre-ball dinners. At 9, guests will make their way to the Lyceum for the main event where they will enjoy a selection of decadent desserts, dancing to live music and a silent auction.
“It’s going to be a fabulous evening,” Hawes said. “The ball is always so much fun.”
Tickets to the Valentine Ball start at $150 per person and include several levels of contributions. To receive an invitation to one of the private dinner parties, you must purchase your ticket by Jan. 14. Reservations can be made online at www.valentineball.org or by calling (843) 522-5774.

As it has done for more than two decades, Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation will use the proceeds from its 2013 Valentine Ball fundraiser to upgrade and improve the community hospital’s healthcare services.
But this time, the focus will change from treating disease to preventing it.
Funding from the Feb. 9 black tie gala has been earmarked for LifeFit Wellness Services, the hospital’s community prevention program which includes a medically supervised fitness and wellness center.
“Our goal is to help people stay healthy and reduce their risk for chronic disease,” said LifeFit Senior Director Mark Senn. “That can involve everything from nutrition and exercise to smoking cessation and stress management.”
This spring, LifeFit will be relocated from the Beaufort Medical Plaza to a larger space in the new Beaufort Medical & Administrative Center being built across the street from the hospital. The Wellness Center will take up the first floor of the four-story, 80,000-square-foot building.
“We have about 1,400 members and are adding 20 to 30 a month,” Senn said. “We’re as full as we can be in our current space.”
With the move, LifeFit will expand from 10,000 square feet of space to 17,000 square feet. The Valentine Ball proceeds will help pay for additional exercise equipment, including 14 spin bikes.
“We will have spin classes for the first time,” Senn said. “Spin is one of the most sought after programs being offered in fitness facilities today.  Additionally the additional space will accommodate the continued expansion of other group exercise classes which have become very popular.”
Moreover, the Foundation funding will allow LifeFit to enhance some of its supporting health services. Along with individual and group exercise, LifeFit offers free community health-related lectures, cancer education, support groups for residents with cardiac, cancer and pulmonary challenges, smoking cessation classes, prenatal education classes, a summer camp for children with asthma and community health fairs.
One of its most popular programs is the LifeFit Mobile Wellness Unit, which travels throughout Beaufort and Jasper counties offering free or low cost health screenings to area residents.
Purchased by the Foundation in 1999, the 40-foot van provides free blood sugar tests for diabetes and blood pressure testing for hypertension. Lipid profile cholesterol tests, prostate blood work and hemoglobin A1c tests cost a nominal $10 each. A nurse practitioner also is available to perform free physical breast exams, skin cancer screenings and digital rectal exams.
In a one-year period ending Sept. 30, 2012, the mobile unit served 4,800 people.
Most recently, LifeFit Wellness Services began offering Community Transitional Care for patients with chronic congestive heart failure, pneumonia and obstructive pulmonary disease. To try to reduce hospital readmissions, a nurse practitioner visits the patients while they are in the hospital to go over the doctor’s orders, set up follow-up appointments and arrange for extra care at home if needed.
“These are patients who have been in the hospital within the last three months,” said Cynthia Coburn-Smith, manager of the LifeFit Community Health Improvement Program. “Having one person they can call makes it a lot easier on them when they have questions.”

For more information on LifeFit Wellness Services, visit www.bmhsc.org or call (843) 522-5635