Blog

This past year the Associates of PVCH & PVMA chose to take on stewardship projects throughout the community as a way to give back to a community that has whole-heartedly supported the hospital, the clinic and the work they do each day.                                                            

Initially, associates from various departments went together to kick things off and volunteered to work a couple of nights at the State Theatre, participated in Relay For Life and the Christmas Angel Tree, and collected food for the Hunger Games which was then donated to the Food Pantry.

As the year progressed, associates from each department came together to decide on a particular project they wanted to support. In many instances, departments chose more than one project to champion.

Kicking off the effort, the Physical Therapy & Advanced Rehabilitation Department spent a Saturday at the Santa Fe Trail Center Museum cleaning up around the buildings in time for the summer tourism season.

May seemed like a perfect time for the associates to be out and about spreading cheer. The Nursing associates created sixty May Day Baskets which they delivered on May Day to the residents at Diversicare in honor of this wonderful May Day tradition.

Not to be out done, the Dietary and Environmental Services associates created beautiful May Day cards and delivered them with freshly baked cookies to the residents at Country Living of Larned on May Day.

Earlier this spring, the PVCH Nurses partnered with the ladies of the Larned Garden Club to help plant the planters in downtown Larned. Although the weather was brisk, the associates enjoyed working alongside the Garden Club Ladies to beautify Larned’s downtown landscape.

A month later, the Nursing Department, along with their family members, traveled out to the Larned Cemetery prior to Memorial Day Weekend to place poppies on the graves of those who served our country and were Veterans of Foreign Wars and members of the American Legion.

In preparation for Memorial Day weekend, the PVCH Maintenance Crew went out to the Pawnee County All Veterans Memorial to do a little spring cleaning. With mops and scrub brushes in hand, they washed off all of the grim and bird droppings left through the long winter and made sure everything was sparkling for visitors to the memorial.

As the Biking Across Kansas bikers road into Larned on June 8, the Pawnee Valley Community Hospital associates were ready to greet them. Pharmacy’s Bethany Skelton served as the local coordinator for the Biking Across Kansas event by coordinating the volunteers and activities needed to feed, sleep, entertain and manage 900+ guests in our community.  

Associates from the PVCH Lab, Physical Therapy and PVMA also manned a first aid station for Biking Across Kansas bikers who came in bruised and battered from the long ride by offering up first aid supplies, stretching techniques for sore muscles and cold bottled water.

Collecting supplies for the Pawnee County Humane Society and their furry friends looking for forever homes was the mission of several departments of PVCH. Working together were the departments of Admissions, Medical Records, Environmental Services, Dietary and Materials Management along with the Associates of the Pawnee Valley Medical Associates. The collection drive was very successful as several truck loads of cleaning supplies, food and litter were taken out to the Humane Society.

After finding out about a needy family of six in the community, the Cardiopulmonary Department decided to give them a special night out by going together to purchase a Pizza Hut gift certificate, a gift certificate for Frostys, State Theatre tickets and an outdoor game that all can enjoy. The department then presented their gifts to the Pawnee County Health Department who would be making the presentation to the family on their behalf.

Although there was film involved, this time the Imaging Team wasn’t taking images, instead they were taking tickets and serving up popcorn as they took a weekend volunteering at the State Theatre. They enjoyed the experience and only image they took that night was their own group selfie!

With a heart for children, Associates of Pawnee Valley Medical Associates joined forces one week with Our Father’s House to prepare and serve meals at the Noon Community Meal Program at the Methodist Church.

The Administrative Department decided early on that they weren’t going to be afraid of getting their hands dirty when volunteering in the community, so they decided to roll up their sleeves and help members of the Orphan Train Grain spruce up the building with a new coat of paint. During their time at the Orphan Grain Train they also spent time boxing up clothing that would be shipped out to needy parts of the world.

“Being able to give back to our community has been a positive experience for all of us at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital and Pawnee Valley Medical Associates,” stated John Hughes, PVCH Administrator. “As an integral organization in our community, we understand the importance of giving back to our community through our volunteer efforts. We look forward to continuing our volunteer efforts in the future.”