Local Hospitals Giving Back to Communities

posted on December 22, 2011 at 2:43 pm

Health Management hospitals provide high-quality care that often often extends beyond the walls of our facilities. Helping people lead healthy, happy lives comes in many forms — whether it’s supporting local causes, volunteering for community events, or providing health education, our hospitals are dedicated to serving their communities.

Wuesthoff Health System (Melbourne and Rockledge, Fla.) donated $2,500 to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard, a multidisciplinary collaboration of child welfare professionals who investigate abuse allegations and provide services to children and families. Based in Rockledge, Fla., the organization depends on state funding and corporate donations to serve its constituents.

Health Management Associates and Physicians Regional Healthcare System (Naples, Fla.) donated $10,000 to Mike Davis Elementary School as part of the Getting2Great initiative. More than 97 percent of the school’s students live in low-income apartment housing, and 95 percent of the children qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The generous donation will provide shoes for needy students and fund educational field trips, dinner for students in after-school tutoring, instructional materials, and much more. Physicians Regional continues to work with the school to come up with additional ways to give back, including volunteer opportunities for Associates to work with teachers and students in the classroom.

Thanks to Jamestown Regional Medical Center (Jamestown, Tenn.), Fentress County’s seniors have a new place to get fit. Hospital volunteers donated eight pieces of equipment to the county’s Senior Citizen’s Center for a new exercise room. Local seniors have been using the equipment daily, and many of the seniors who have completed cardiac rehab are now using the new exercise room to continue their exercise.

To ensure that no child goes without a gift this holiday season, Associates at Gilmore Memorial Regional Medical Center (Amory, Miss.) are selling cookbooks to raise funds to purchase gifts for more than 100 needy children in Monroe County. The cookbook, entitled Cooking with Gilmore Volume II, features 500 recipes submitted by hospital Associates.

Central Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson, Miss.) made the holidays a little warmer for Peeples Middle School students. Hospital Associates and Santa made a special visit to the school to deliver more than 260 donated coats, along with hats, gloves and uniforms to the school. Representatives from the Jackson Public School District, the school’s leadership and news teams from WAPT, The Clarion Ledger and other media attended the event.

The home office of Health Management Associates (Naples, Fla.) donated an impressive 226 pounds of food to the Harry Chapin Food Bank — enough food to feed a person for 8.6 weeks.

On a Saturday in September, nearly 30 Associates and volunteers of Sandhills Regional Medical Center (Hamlet, N.C.) donated their time and effort at a Habitat for Humanity construction site to help one of their own. Toni Ratliff, Phlebotomy at Sandhills Regional, is next in line for a Habitat for Humanity home. She is responsible for putting in 300 sweat-equity hours per adult that will live in the home, and 150 of those hours can come from family and friends. Her fellow Associates didn’t disappoint. It was such a rewarding experience for some that they offered to return the following weekend to lend a hand.

As the year comes to a close, countless individuals have benefited from the care and support provided by Health Management hospitals. Lives have been saved and enriched by the Associates, physicians and volunteers who make it possible to provide exceptional care. We all play an important role in making a difference in the lives of so many, and that’s something we can all feel good about.