Tracy Kovalench
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 24/98) - Ruth Stanton joined a crew of fuzzy bears, Icelandic horses and a bagpiper to wish Stanton Regional Hospital a happy birthday.

Ten years ago, Stanton was in Yellowknife to witness the hospital's grand opening, which was named in honor of her late husband, Dr. Oliver Stanton.

She returned for last Sunday's festivities, once again a very special guest. The Hospital Auxiliary invited her to the renaming of its "tuk shop" in her honor.

Like the new Ruth Stanton Gift Shop, Stanton Regional Hospital continues to expand and evolve.

The 135-bed complex houses a number of specialty wards, including speech pathology, mammography, respiratory and physiotherapy.

Specialists also travel across the Western and Central Arctic to visit patients in their own communities.

"There are hundreds of people who have never been in this facility, but know Stanton very well," said David Ramsden, deputy minister of health and social services. "It's a true regional reference centre for the North," added Stanton Regional Health Board chair Sharon Ehaloak.

Ceremonies also included CIBC's $25,000 donation to the hospital's mammography department, a carving by Rudy Mingiljak and a bagpipe performance by Haigh Carthew.

Formal ceremonies gave way to open house for the rest of the afternoon. The crowd dispersed from the hospital's main foyer to indulge in activities like squaredancing and traditional food sampling as well as hotdogs and horse rides.

The physiotherapy department was one of many popular spots. Transformed into a teddy-bear hospital for the afternoon, the department housed seven mini-departments. Children accompanied their bears in everything from emergency to surgery. The Adam Dental Clinic was also on location to check teddy's teeth.

The teddy-bear hospital allows children to experience the hospital through the less tramautic eyes of their teddy bears. It gives them a better understanding of what happens to them when they're here, said co-ordinator Robin Greig.