Essay: Anna Brock
ESSAY: ANNA BROCK ENSWORTH DANCE MARATHON Growing up in a household surrounded by doctors and nurses, I have always wanted to submerge myself into the hospital community and be as beneficial to my community as I think my family has. Even though I have not wanted to be a doctor, I knew there would be a way I could get involved. When I was a freshman in high school, one of my friends invited me to be on the first team of this fundraiser she was starting for the local hospital. I thought this was perfect! This was my way to get involved. Since then, my team and I have raised over $110,000 for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and we are just getting started. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is a non-profit institution in Nashville, TN. It is a part of the Children’s Miracle Network which is a network of Children’s Hospitals that does not turn patients away based on their inability to pay. That means they rely on donations and community support to cover the cost of care that is not covered by Medicaid and insurance programs. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt began with a Vanderbilt University Medical School professor David F. Karzon, M.D. who wanted to create a hospital that would enhance all care and treatments for children in the community. He started little by little to make his dream a reality. He started creating little segments of pediatrics specialties within the hospital, whether it be urology or orthopedics, and eventually accumulated them all together into this one state-of-the-art hospital. He wanted to make sure that the children were receiving only the best care, they were in a safe environment, and the hospital was active and responsive to the community’s needs. The dream has only continued to grow since then. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt created a mission statement to make sure that they are honoring their founder’s goals and dreams. It goes as follows: “Through the exceptional capabilities and caring spirit of its people, Vanderbilt will lead in improving the healthcare of individuals and communities regionally, nationally and internationally. We will combine our transformative learning programs and compelling discoveries to provide distinctive personalized care” (“Our Mission and History”). This mission statement inspires hospital staff and volunteers to extend their care outside of Nashville. People are adapting every day and the hospital is always researching and discovering ways they can extend these benefits. They need the help of these volunteers and external community projects to help them fund the next generation of medicine. Through my extensive research and prolonged experience with the Medical Center, I wanted to recall all the ways the Children’s Hospital benefits from the donations, and how overall, they not only keep Dr. Karzon’s dream alive, but they save children’s lives. After all my research and involvement in the developing world for the past year, I truly think the way to get so many donations and support is from having a huge group of people who all believe in your cause. The reason I think this is because 31 years ago, in 1991, the first dance marathon was born at Indiana University. Students rallied to support and raise money in honor of a deceased friend, Ryan White, who died of AIDS
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