The vocal stylings of an award-winning country musician will raise funds to benefit the High River hospital’s maternity ward.

Country singer/songwriter Victoria Banks will take the stage at the High River Hospital Maternity and Obstetrics fundraising concert Friday evening at the Highwood Memorial Centre in High River.

Funds from the concert will be used for the obstetrics and maternity unit, said Cathy Couey, fund development officer for the High River District Health Care Foundation.

“Any sort of equipment or programs or services that we can bring here just to enhance the care that we’re able to give young families is just a real benefit to our entire facility,” she said.

Last year’s concert raised about $2,000, which was used to buy a NeoPuff Infant T-Piece Resuscitator – a welcome addition, she said. Babies can be resuscitated by hand, but this equipment regulates the activity and makes it safer, she explained.

“If you were doing things manually you had to worry about the pressure and that,” she said.

Funds from the concert will go a long way to help the obstetrics and maternity unit, given the constant changes to technology and the sheer volume of patients, she explained.

“We have a very busy maternity unit,” she said.

Last year, 566 babies were delivered at the hospital. There were over 8,000 visits to the hospital’s Low Risk Obstetrics Clinic, which pairs patients with a physician because many family doctors don’t deliver babies, Couey explained.

The hospital has a strong maternity program, which was aided by the addition of the clinic about two years ago, she said.

“When you look at the community of Okotoks and the young families, it is an essential service and I think being able to deliver babies at a hospital is a key component as well,” she said. “You can see the numbers of babies that we’ve delivered and that’s a lot of families that are being affected.”

Patients from the entire foothills area including Nanton, Vulcan and Calgary attend the unit and often benefit from the site’s small size, Couey said.

“Moms, I think get a little bit more of that extra care and attention while they’re here,” she added.

The unit also practices family-centered care, where fathers can stay and the entire family can be included in experiences such as when the baby has its first bath.

The upcoming concert is the foundation’s second and staff hope to make it an annual event to support maternity and obstetrics, said Couey, who praised Banks and is excited for her to perform.

Banks will take the stage for the acoustic show and the audience will be treated to the sound of just her and her guitar.

“I really love doing shows like that because I think it really expresses the songs better, just hearing them in their original form,” she said.

The audience can expect to hear a combination of hit songs she had on the radio along with songs she wrote for other artists, she explained.

“It’s always kind of fun to mix them all in together and see peoples’ reactions because of course as a songwriter, you’re always just the tiny print under somebody else’s name,” Banks laughed.

For Banks, the work of a songwriter is continuous and everything is material for a potential song, she said. However, some of her best songs were born out of her own life experiences, which she said she often tries to make sense out of.

“Songwriting is kind of like therapy where you can work those things out and tell stories about them and talk about them and give them meaning, maybe,” she explained.

Banks added using her skills for a good cause is the best way to use one’s talent.

“Whenever you get a chance to use your music for something like that it’s always a great opportunity,” she said.

The concert takes place Friday, May 11 at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets for the concert cost $20 and can be purchased at Boothill Gallery in Okotoks, the foundation office at the High River Hospital or over the phone at 403-652-0129, Rainbow Esso in High River or Classic Rodeo in Nanton. For more information, visit highriverhealthfoundation.ca

For more on Banks or to request a song for the show, visit victoriabanks.net or via Twitter or Facebook.

Comments

The Okotoks Western Wheel welcomes your opinions and comments. We do not allow personal attacks, offensive language or unsubstantiated allegations. We reserve the right to delete comments deemed inappropriate. We reserve the right to close the comments thread for stories that are deemed especially sensitive. For further information, please contact the editor or publisher.