Sample Excerpt: Brochure/Newspaper Insert Showcasing Hospital’s “Good Works”

 

Good Works.

Indeed it does, and in more ways than one. In fact, these two words are at the heart of what Memorial Hospital has stood for since its inception in 1952. Under the stewardship of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth from the beginning, this full-line not-for-profit medical institution has made caring, compassion, and excellence their very cornerstones.

Memorial Hospital knows that good works for everyone - patients, employees, and the community at large. You already know the Memorial Hospital renowned for its top quality health care - with some of the finest cardiac and oncology programs in the Southeast. We’d like to introduce you to another face - the good works we do everyday to deliver on our fundamental commitments.

We’ve all heard that “Charity begins at home.” And never truer than at Memorial, where employees are special. From higher than normal starting wages to child care and home buying assistance programs, Memorial takes good care of their own. Indeed, their Child Care Center, while a relatively new fixture in most corporate settings, has been continuously operating at Memorial since 1980, recently undergoing a renovation that fully doubled its size and ability to serve employee needs.

 

And people like Ricky and Angela Truss, maintenance and medical transport workers with Memorial, are homeowners thanks to an innovative partnership program between Memorial and the Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE). With CNE guiding and advising prospective homeowners through the process and Memorial providing assistance with down payments and securing second mortgages, the dream of home ownership has become a reality for many Memorial employees like Ricky and Angela.

 

Clearly, kindness begets more kindness in turn, as every holiday season, Memorial employees consistently come through for their community. In this past year’s food drive, sponsored by the (Chattanooga) Food Bank, Memorial staff collected a robust 22,000 lbs. of food- over 11 tons - to help make the holidays for many area families a little bit merrier. And speaking of area families, as part of the annual employee-run Memorial Christmas project, scores of local families are “adopted” by Memorial employees, who provide holiday gifts and meals.

 

And this is only the beginning of the good works beyond the doors of Memorial.

 

Memorial Hospital “Good Works” - Estella Greaves Profile  

 

“I may stop by a widower’s house, and a neighboring widow asks how he is. If he was sad, I may say, ‘Well, it’s raining today,’ and she’ll understand and may say, ‘Well, I’ll call him,’ or ‘I’ll make sure he has something to eat.’ I love to see community come together.”

 

Estella Greaves feels especially fortunate to do what she does. As a social worker with Memorial Hospital, she works in the nearby Glenwood community. It’s a neighborhood with which Memorial has always enjoyed a special relationship, and where they suspected there were many unaddressed needs amongst the largely elderly population. Estella’s mission? To befriend the people, assess their needs, and as an advocate with a keen grasp of available resources amongst residents, the community, or Memorial Hospital itself, steer the person to the solution.  Or, in her words, “look after people who might otherwise fall through the cracks.”

 

But far from handouts, which she is quick to point out that the proud people of Glenwood simply won’t accept, her mission is to empower the community and its residents to help each other. She explains, “Sometimes, when I go into a neighborhood, I’ll recruit one or two of the residents to help out with a particular situation, and that way the community is taking care of its own. By spending time with these people, whom I dearly love, they don’t see me as a social worker, but as a friend. And when a crisis hits, people will accept help from a friend.”

 

Estella Greaves walks the world of the forgotten. Elderly people who are often alone and grieving. Grieving for the loss of a lifelong spouse, a loss of independence, and most of all, the loss of their self-worth as a vital member in the day-to-day happenings of their community, which has moved on without them. It’s not glamorous work, and there are few “success stories” in a conventional sense. Yet, Estella Greaves knows the difference she’s making. Whether it’s a smile coaxed from a timeworn face or a thank you from a friend who needs so little but needs that little so much, her rewards come in small sweet packages.

 

 

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