SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

Marcomm Team Volunteers At San Antonio Food Bank

The Marketing/Communications/Community (MarComm) team kicked off the first quarter of the year by volunteering as a group with the San Antonio Food Bank out at Haven for Hope. The MarComm team spent four hours prepping and serving lunch on a Friday in March. Their roles included sanitation, meal preparation, and serving lunches to over 500 people. The team also helped assemble nearly 750 sandwiches which would go to community members in need. Haven for Hope addresses root causes of homelessness by offering programming tailored to the specific needs of the individual. Their approach is person-centered, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented. The goal is to meet individuals where they are and support them as they move toward self-sufficiency. One of the kitchens on the Haven for Hope campus is run by the San Antonio Food Bank. They serve 800-1,500 hot meals a day to residents at Haven for Hope.

It was a fun day giving back to our community and supporting two great local non-profit organizations.

METHODIST ER | CITY BASE SPONSORS SOUND THE ALARM CAMPAIGN

On March 11, volunteers with the Greater San Antonio Chapter of the American Red Cross and Methodist ER City Base, along with Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, came together to support the Red Cross’s Sound the Alarm campaign.

This event was sponsored by Methodist ER | City Base. The group rallied at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, installed 73 free smoke alarms, made 32 homes safer, and provided home fire education to approximately 100 families in South San Antonio.

“The Sound the Alarm campaign directly helps local families by installing smoke alarms – which can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half,” said Daniel Martinez, Executive Director of the Greater San Antonio Chapter. “Our goal is to help people prepare for, respond to, and recover from home fires – which account for most of the U.S. disasters that the Red Cross responds to every eight minutes.”

During the home visits, volunteers also shared information on the causes of home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts, and how to create an escape plan.

This event was a critical part of the national Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which has helped save at least 1,583 lives since launching in October 2014. As part of the campaign in the Central and South Texas Region, local partners have installed more than 32,000 free smoke alarms and made nearly 14,000 households safer since the launch of the campaign in 2014.

METHODIST HOSPITAL | ATASCOSA RENOVATES ER TO IMPROVE PATIENT EXPERIENCE

In response to the growing population in Atascosa County and the continuous volume growth of their emergency room, the hospital was excited to host a ribbon cutting to introduce its newly renovated emergency department to the community.

As part of the renovation, the hospital expanded its triage area, purchased several new, comfortable chairs for patients not needing a bed, improved their check-in area and security desk, and implemented new processes and procedures to enhance the experience of staff and patients.

“Our mission statement is ‘serving humanity to honor God by providing exceptional, cost-effective health care accessible to all.’ That is the hallmark of what we do, and we are so excited to share this milestone with the community,” shared Drew Seelman, Chief Nursing Officer.