A new pediatric crib is in use at Texas County Memorial Hospital thanks to the unique partnerships of several organizations, including a group of children from Wellspring Church, that came together to purchase the $5,394 piece of specialized equipment.
In October last year, TCMH received a $2,000 grant from Children’s Miracle Network toward the purchase of a pediatric crib for the hospital’s medical surgical department. The grant stipulated that the money be used by the end of 2007 to purchase the crib.
The TCMH Healthcare Foundation began searching for additional funding to cover the cost of the crib. At the same time the foundation was searching for additional funds, the children of Wellspring Church in Houston were searching for a special way to give during the holidays.
Kara Wright, a member of Wellspring Church and employee at TCMH, was directing the children of the church in the Christmas play “All I Want for Christmas” with a storyline about “giving instead of receiving.”
“We have over 50 kids in our church and in working on our play, we wanted to do something special as a way to give during the holiday season,” Wright explained.
Wright, whose father, Dr. William Wright, is a family practice physician at the hospital, was informed about the healthcare foundation’s fund-raising efforts for the pediatric crib. Kara Wright and the children on the church began working on various fund raising projects in addition to the play to raise money for the purchase of the pediatric crib.
On the night the play was performed at Wellspring Church, the children held a special raffle for backstage passes to top off their fundraising.
“God opened doors for us, and we were able to raise $1,000 to give to the healthcare foundation for the crib,” Wright said.
The TCMH Auxiliary also donated $1,697 to the healthcare foundation to assist with the purchase of the crib.
“As the foundation began looking for the additional funds needed to purchase the crib, I first contacted the auxiliary,” said Jay Gentry, director of the TCMH Healthcare Foundation.
It agreed to use some of their funds from the Auxiliary Gift Shop sales to help offset the cost of the crib to the hospital.
“The auxiliary has a longstanding tradition of supporting projects at the hospital, and the members especially enjoy the opportunity to help children,” Gentry said.
The healthcare foundation covered the $697 balance remaining on the crib through private donations, some of which were designated for the purchase of the crib.
“The goal of the healthcare foundation is to be a vehicle through which organizations and individuals can make donations that improve healthcare in our county,” Gentry said. “It’s wonderful for the foundation to have the opportunity to help in joining together individuals like the children at Wellspring Church with our hospital’s auxiliary and other private donors to purchase this pediatric crib”
The pediatric crib works like a small patient stretcher, but the sides can be pulled up to contain a small child like a traditional crib. The crib rails are brightly colored.
The crib will be used with pediatric patients in the hospital’s medical surgical department. As room availability permits, the crib will be used in the kid-friendly pediatric room that opened on the south wing of the hospital last spring.
For more information about other healthcare foundation projects at TCMH, contact Gentry at 417-967-1377. The healthcare foundation is the non-profit organizational arm of the hospital that develops relationships and financial resources to support the healthcare programs, projects and services of the hospital.