Marshalltown Medical & Surgical Center Experiences the Spirit of Christmas
It’s the time of year when the act of giving is all around and for Marshalltown Medical & Surgical Center, Christmas came early this year.
Val Ruff, MMSC Foundation Director, was home Wednesday night when she heard a knock on her front door. Ruff and her husband Rod opened the door to find a gift bag, a jar full of loose change and an unsigned note.
The note stated that the author had been looking for someone to give the coins to, and it looked like they had found that someone after they had read the article about making donations to the hospital in Tuesday’s Times-Republican. They wanted to make sure the items were given to someone in need, especially this time of year.
After reading the note, Ruff opened the gift bag to find two books, two Barbies, and a box of dominoes inside. The two books, Penny’s Christmas Jar Miracle and Christmas Jars, both written by Jason Wright, described how a family collected their loose change in a jar throughout the year and then gave the jar to someone in need around Christmas.
“Considering the time of year, I can’t tell you how moving this entire experience has been for all of us,” Ruff said. “Once I truly understood the message of the Christmas jar, I became excited that these individuals had chosen to make a generous gift to the hospital, in hopes that we would identify a patient and or a family in need.”
Ruff enlisted the help of Gina James, director of nursing for med/surg/pediatrics/telemetry and skilled care center at MMSC, to identify a patient or family that might be in need of such a gift this holiday season.
James immediately knew a family that would find comfort in the Christmas jar and gifts.
“The family was a perfect match for what the individuals who left these items at my home would want us to do,” said Ruff. “To make a difference in the lives of patients and their families, through an anonymous gift, is exactly what the Christmas jar is all about.”
Annette Nielsen Memorial Breast Cancer Golf Tournament Check Presentation
On Thursday, October 20, the MMSC Foundation and the MMSC Diagnostic Imaging Department presented Karen Frohwein with a check from the funds raised at the 13th Annual Annette Nielsen Memorial Breast Cancer Golf Tournament.
Each year, MMSC, MMSC Foundation, and MMSC Diagnostic Imaging Department select a member of the community currently battling breast cancer to receive the proceeds from this golf tournament. Frohwein was this year's recipient.
A total of $12,138.97 was presented to Frohwein.
In an effort to "pay it forward," Frohwein and her family decided to give back 10% of the proceeds to the MMSC Foundation's Prevent program. PREVENT is an early breast cancer detection program that was established in partnership with the Marshall County Chapter of the American Cancer Society. The Foundation has made a commitment that every individual, regardless of their ability to pay, will be able to have a mammography screening at MMSC.
"Randy and I were overwhelmed with the support shown to us at the golf tournament," said Frohwein. "It is important to us that we give back to the PREVENT program so that any individual, regardless of their ability to pay, can have a mammogram at MMSC."
Tribute to Caregivers Statue Placed
The Tribute to Caregivers statue was officially placed on September 26, at the front entrance of the hospital.
The bronze sculpture depicts four figures, representing healthcare workers of all occupations. Two of the figures depict healthcare workers in the early 1900s, while the other two figures portray modern-day healthcare workers.
The sculpture is surrounded by a brick walkway in which personalized bricks were purchased by donors to recognize a loved one or healthcare professional.
A special thank you to the MMSC Auxiliary for their fundraising efforts to help bring the Tribute to Caregivers sculpture to fruition.
Please stop by and see the sculpture that pays tribute to the thousands of healthcare workers that have walked through the doors of MMSC over the past several years.
