Every year we have more and more Community employees who respond to the call to give back and support the Valley’s largest healthcare network and the hospitals who provide the most charity care to patients – “US”. This year it’s exciting to see a group of clinical units at Community Regional Medical Center challenging each other to raise $20,000 for Terry’s House, Community’s home away from home for patient families while their loved ones heal in the hospital.

Community Regional’s medical surgical (med-surg) units, orthopedics, oncology, cardiovascular pulmonary care, and neuroscience staff aim to raise the equivalent of 667 nights of lodging by Jan. 11, 2014, which is the third anniversary of the opening of Terry’s House’s. WOW, talk about teamwork! Led by unit leadership, they are engaging employees and building a “culture of philanthropy” system wide. Break rooms even have hand crafted “Terry’s House giving tree” posters where employees who make a one-time donation or enroll in employee giving are displayed throughout the holiday season.

Front row left to right: Joni Hasselbring, executive secretary, administrative secretaries: LauraBeth Antone, Claudia Ramirez Medina, Emy Lo, Christa Short, director of Terry’s House, Desirey Tolosa Terry’s House manager Back row left to right: Administrative secretaries Alma Hernandez, Angela Lee and Alicia Garcia

Mishaun Jackson, director of medical-surgical services, said “The staff takes great care of patients every day. But they see the effects that the hospitalization of patients have on families and wanted to assist families to have the best experience possible as their loved ones were hospitalized.”

Additionally med-surg as well as other units are also giving back this holiday season at Terry’s House by cooking meals for families, donating holiday gifts, and sending our families warm encouraging notes helping them get through the unthinkable to re-energize them for another day at the bedside. You can give back too! 

Within the last year we’ve had more than 540 employee donors contributing $348,000 to help fund new equipment, health education programs, scholarships,  provide services for patients and sustain Terry’s House – relying solely on private gifts and contributions to operate. This averages less than $2 a day for each of those employees. Imagine if everyone forfeited one soda a day – think of the difference we could make.

I’m proud to work for an organization where employees come together and give back to support “our” mission, “our” cause and “our” Community. YOU are truly making a difference on and off the clock. Who doesn’t want to work for an organization that has that type of support?

It’s the time and season for giving – looking beyond our needs to help those around us. If you would like to make a gift to Community click here or call us at the Foundation at (559) 459-2670.

Katelyn Ashton
Development Officer
Community Medical Foundation