HCA Healthcare’s 183 hospitals across the county participated in its third annual Healthy Food for Healthier Tomorrows Food & Nutrition Drive to help fight against food insecurity.
As part of the food drive, hospitals could make a can good sculpture with an emphasis on creativity and connecting the sculpture back to the community. Each division throughout HCA Healthcare recognized a winner and those division winners were entered into an HCA Healthcare enterprise-wide competition with a prize of $10,000 for division winners and $25,000 for the enterprise winner.
Highlands-Cashiers Hospital not only won for the North Carolina division, but also won for all of HCA Healthcare.
The HCH sculpture is of Doctor Bear and the team at the hospital felt it tied to their Teddy Bear Hospitals held around the community. This year, HCH held 7 Teddy Bear Clinics and donated 700 bears to children.
HCH’s Doctor Bear creation in the HCA Healthcare competition.
Their hope was to bring some smiles and joy, but also hoped to have inspired some of the next generation of doctors and nurses.
“I want to thank the staff and community who donated food and to our volunteers who conceived the idea for our sculpture and created it,” said Tom Neal, CEO, Highlands-Cashiers Hospital. “Highlands-Cashiers Hospital collected more than 867 canned goods or roughly 435 pounds of food to be donated to support these agencies.”
After receiving $35,000 from HCA Healthcare for their wins, HCH was able to donate $17,500 to The International Friendship Center’s Food Pantry in Highlands and $17,500 to Fishes and Loaves services in Cashiers and Jackson County.
HCH CEO Tom Neal presented checks for $17,500 to the food pantries that serve Highlands and Cashiers areas. From left are Larry Morris, Tom Neal, Bonnie Dayton, and TJ Smith.
HCA Healthcare’s Healthy Food for Healthier Tomorrows Food & Nutrition Drive provided more than 1 million nutritious meals to community food banks by donating food or making financial contributions to help purchase perishable items such as milk, fruit and vegetables.
Pictured at the top of the article from left are Betsy Carson, Hospital Volunteer; Catherine Connolly-Hudson, Hospital Volunteer; Robin Neal, Hospital Volunteer, Tom Neal, HCH CEO/CNO, Larry Morris, Fishes and Loaves; Bonnie Dayton, International Friendship Center Food Pantry; and TJ Smith, International Friendship Center.