AUBURN - Auburn Memorial Hospital employees believed that the time was right to revive an old tradition.

The AMH Employee Events Committee held the first hospital employee picnic in more than 16 years on Friday with the goal of making it, yet again, an annual event.

“We're trying to boost the morale of the employees,” said Jill Oropallo, who works in nursing services at the hospital and sits on the Employee Events Committee established in December. “We're trying to keep us almost like a big, happy family.”

Morale needs boosting because of a turbulent two years that resulted in million dollar loses, financial restructuring, consolidating units and staffing and management changes, said Barb Perkins, assistant director of nursing. In April, the hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure $13 million in debts.

Now, the committee is looking to bring the employees together for a positive, fun-filled event.

“It's so important for morale,” said Sue Corey, registered nurse, nurse manager and chair of the committee. “We really needed to do something.”

The committee has been fundraising since December to raise the funds to pay for the picnic. According to Corey, the committee raised enough money to pay for about 85 percent of the picnic. The hospital helped fund the rest.

The result of the committee's efforts was a seven-hour picnic on Friday at the Owasco Fire Department Station on Owasco Road in Auburn for employees and their families catered by Balloons Restaurant and featured Night Shift Entertainment DJ service, a moon walk, magician, face painting, relay races, a dunking booth and other activities for children, and a employee/manager softball game.

Ryan Clare, 7, of West Henrietta, climbed into the dunking booth eager for a dip in the water.

Samantha Ball, 7, of Weedsport, held a yellow ball in her hand, looking to hit the target and send Clare into the water below. She threw once, missed, then twice, missed. She then ran to the target and hit it with her hands. A giant splash of water emerged from the tank as Clare fell into the water.

“I wanted him to get wet,” Ball said.

Clare was not finished after being dunked the first time. After pulling himself out of the water, he sat down on the ledge and waited for someone else to hit the target.

“I just thought it was fun,” he said.

Clare and his 2-year-old sister, Michaela, came to the picnic with their grandmother, Mary Ann Clare, an AMH secretary.

A group of adults and children lined up for a potato-sack race. Legs hidden inside red bags, 12 children hopped across the field. Then it was the adults' turn. Hospital employees - many of whom were the parents of the racing children - got their chance to see who hopped the fastest.

Jamie Congdon, an administrative assistant at the hospital, was declared the victor.

The Cato woman said that she participated in the race to be a part of the fun. And, she said, her two children, Zach Garrigan, 11, and Abigail Condgon, 5, encouraged it.

For her, this was a chance to spend time with family and friends outside of work.

“I don't have a lot of time on the outside to have fun with everyone,” she said.

“It's just showing that we can support the hospital,” added her sister, Kelly McCall of Weedsport, who is a billing clerk at AMH, “that it's not only work but fun also.”

Corey said that she and the committee were expecting 300 people to attend. Instead, they had 700 people RSVP.

“Having 700 people come here is a sign that everything is going to be okay,” she said.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239.