CARIBOU, Maine — The holiday season at Cary Medical Center has been very festive and rewarding. The hospital is completing the celebration of its 100th anniversary. Various organizations and individuals have donated special items to the medical center. One very special gift was delivered on New Year’s Eve, December 31 by Gabriel Carlson who earlier in the year visited the hospital’s OB unit to discuss a special project. Carlson, who is a Life Scout and scout troop patrol leader in Troop 184 is going for his Eagle Scout rank and as part of that process he designed and built a bookcase for the Maternal and Child Health Unit at Cary.
The book case is made primarily out of maple and stands some four feet high. It has plexiglass doors and adjustable shelves. The case is also on wheels making it easy to move around the unit. His original motivation for building the bookcase came from a very personal perspective.
“My youngest brother Nikolas became septic soon after he was born in a birth center in Harlingen, Texas,” said Carlson. “He received care in Harlingen and went to a hospital in Houston. He was in the hospital for weeks and my parents visited all the time. Having access to books during their visits helped to pass the time and connect with Nikolas. I felt something like that might be good for our local hospital.”
Nurses on the OB unit at Cary welcomed the addition to their unit and were very pleased with the quality of the workmanship. Stephanie Graham, charge nurse on the unit when Carlson delivered the bookcase, said that it will be a nice treat for patients, especially children.
“Gabriel has really made a beautiful piece of furniture,” said Graham. “It fits so well with our new unit. Children who come with their parents to visit our new moms or children who are admitted to the unit will really enjoy having access to the books Gabriel provided.”
Carlson said he had the help of professionals Brian and Robert Bixler with Precision Custom Woodworking in Fort Fairfield and that the project took about 200 hours to complete. Bill Flagg, director of public relations at Cary, signed the official paperwork for the Eagle Scout rank, which is part of the application process. Flagg said that he was impressed with the dedication Carlson had with the project.
“Gabriel contacted me several months ago about his plan to build this bookcase for our OB Unit,” said Flagg, who was the recipient of the 2022 ‘Good Scout Award’. “We met with Jen Plante, RN, manager of our Maternal Child Unit to discuss the project and she outlined some of the specific things that would be necessary to have the bookcase on the unit. Gabriel did just what was asked. I did not hear from him again until just this week when he told me he had completed the project. I was so impressed that he stayed with it and had such a successful outcome. This is the kind of volunteer effort that the Eagle Scout award is all about.”
In addition to the book case Carlson also provided a number of children’s books that will be given away to children when visiting the unit. The Caribou Public Library is working with the project to update books as the need arises.
