***Press Release***
EFFINGHAM, IL – HSHS St. Anthony’s Foundation has joined the global Giving Tuesday effort and asks the community to consider donating to HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital on this day of giving.
Giving Tuesday represents a global day dedicated to giving back. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, charities, families, businesses, community centers and students around the world come together to celebrate generosity and helping others. Giving Tuesday is held annually after the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick off the holiday giving season and inspire people to collaborate to improve their local communities and give back in impactful ways to charities and other causes they support.
Michael Wall, Director of Philanthropy, shared “Giving Tuesday provides an opportunity – whether through a business, organization, family, or individual – to show gratitude during this special time of the year. Think of Giving Tuesday as ‘Celebrate Generosity Day’. Your investment today enhances the ministry of healing that is experienced in the many programs and services found in our community and throughout HSHS St. Anthony’s area of service.”
Financial contributions are vital to the healing ministry of HSHS St. Anthony’s. The HSHS St. Anthony’s Foundation was established to advance the mission of the hospital to provide health care to all and carry the hospital’s values and traditions for future generations. By giving to the local foundation, you can be assured that your donation is making a difference for patients, their families, and the community.
As a nonprofit hospital, St. Anthony’s relies on contributions to provide health care services to Effingham and the surrounding communities. In the past year alone, donated funds to HSHS St. Anthony’s Foundation allow the hospital to provide an investment in the following programs and services:
- Provide training for Physical Rehabilitation staff as they implemented a new program that offers physical therapy to individuals with cancer.
- Implement the Hugs & Cuddles Program where Pediatric Patients receive a Teddy Bear prior to their Same Day Surgery procedure, Imaging procedure, or Emergency Department treatment.
- Provide support to the Clinical Nutrition department (in partnership with Catholic Charities), to assist individuals living with Diabetes by offering a free program where participants can receive assistance with healthy food options, medication costs, diabetic supplies, nutrition education, and behavioral goal setting.
- Give each newborn at St. Anthony’s a HALO SleepSack which is a wearable blanket that does not cover the face/interfere with baby’s breathing, and aims to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
- Provide assistance in granting “last wishes” through the HSHS Hospice Everlasting Memories Program to give the patient and their loved ones a special moment in their last days, as well creating a fond memory for the family members after loved one has passed.
- Assist patients participating in Lymphedema Therapy, often caused as a result of breast surgery, by providing medically necessary compression garments that reduces swelling and infections and increases the healing process.
- Enhance a child’s walking ability through the purchase of a Pediatric Treadmill where a therapist with the Physical Rehabilitation department is able to provide appropriate body mechanics and ergonomics that leads to independent walking.
For more information on the national Giving Tuesday initiative or to view renowned charities nationwide, visit givingtuesday.org. To donate to HSHS St. Anthony’s Foundation, or to learn more on how HSHS St. Anthony’s contributes to the hospital and community, visit stanthonyshospital.org/Giving. HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital is part of the Southern Illinois Division of Hospital Sisters Health System, which also includes HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese, HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville, and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland.
***Press release courtesy of HSHS St Anthony’s Memorial Hospital***