Hospitals across the country are constantly struggling with budget problems, but Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital has a secret weapon in the financial battle: the volunteers in its nonprofit auxiliary organization.

As hospital officials continue months of remodeling and construction, they know that a new CT scanner will be ready to install in the radiology and imaging suite of the new hospital wing because the SY Valley Cottage Hospital Auxiliary has donated $500,000 to buy the machine.

The state-of-the-art scanner will replace a 10-year-old one — which was also bought by the auxiliary — said June Martin of the hospital foundation.

“They actually bought the very first CT scanner that the hospital got, 10 years ago,” Martin said.

The money for the new technology was raised over the past five years or so, primarily by volunteers who operate the auxiliary’s “New to You” thrift store at 1689 Oak St. in Solvang, said the group’s president, Barbara Davidge.

The group also raises money each year through a Christmas gala, a jewelry sale and an auction of creative Easter baskets made by group members.

The donation was made possible by the auxiliary’s many donors and the thrift store’s loyal customers, Davidge said.

She recently presented a half-million-dollar check to hospital Vice President Wende Cappetta.

Thanking the auxiliary volunteers on behalf of the hospital and all its employees for their commitment and continuing hard work, Cappetta said the new medical scanner would be named in the auxiliary’s honor.

The new equipment will perform the same tests as the old machine but will do the work more quickly, Martin said, and provide physicians with higher-quality images and other data while keeping patients’ radiation exposure at lower levels.

“The main thing is that our old one is a ‘one-slice’ scanner so it takes one image at a time,” Martin said. “The new one is a ‘16-slice’ ... so it takes images much faster ... and the person doesn’t have to be in the machine as long.”

 The new scanner is expected to be ready for installation when the new hospital wing is completed early next year, she said.

Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital on Viborg Road in Solvang is part of the Cottage Health System, which includes Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Cottage Children’s Hospital, Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital and Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital.

The auxiliary’s New-to-You Shop is open seven days a week — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

It offers a variety of merchandise including men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, furniture, and appliances, as well as seasonal merchandise. This month, for example, Christmas decorations and holiday attire are being featured at the shop.

For more information about joining the hospital auxiliary, call the hospital at 686-3971.