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Randolph Health News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7/17/2017 12:00:00 AM EASTERN
Updated: 7/17/2017 4:44:06 PM EASTERN
For more information, contact Paula Richards.
Giving a Piece of HOPE and Carrying on a Legacy

    ASHEBORORandolph Health staff not only provide care for patients and families within our system, but their care extends outside these walls and into the community taking shape in the form of volunteers, coaches, club members and church parishioners.  Also, throughout the year, staff participates in the Randolph Health Community Foundation Annual Giving Campaign and the United Way Campaign, giving financial support to numerous health and wellness programs throughout the community.

             And if these contributions weren’t enough, the Nurse Education Council launched a yearly canned food drive that continues to pick up speed. Mary Hope Treece, Medical Pediatric Surgery Unit (MPS) nurse, spearheaded the first canned food drive in 2015. “It was her passion to help others. She wanted to give back and she motivated staff to support the canned food drive as a method of giving back to those who truly needed it in the community,” said Patty Cox, RN, Director of Progressive Care Unit.

            The inaugural campaign went off without a hitch with nursing departments jockeying for who could garner the most cans. It led to healthy competition and it came down to a battle between MPS and the Surgery Center. In the end, the Surgery Center claimed victory, although the true winners were those in need in our community.

            “Over 2,500 cans were donated that first year with the Surgery Center donating 948 cans,” said Cox. “A successful event that would later become so much more than just a canned food drive.”

            As staff was beginning early conversations about a second annual food drive, tragedy struck and Randolph Health received the sad news that Mary Hope Treece, at the young age of 31 years old, passed away suddenly due to complications from an illness.

            “As a way of coping with the tragedy, the Nurse Education Council agreed to move forward with the second annual canned food drive, naming it after Mary as a way to honor her memory,” said Cox. “Mary was a giver. Half of what she did for others, no one even knew until she died. She was a quiet giver and had helped so many people. Now, her legacy can go on, continuing to help others through this canned food drive.”

            With new passion and a motivation to let that legacy live on, staff launched the Mary Hope Treece Can Food Drive. A challenge was issued and the food drive expanded from nursing to include the entire hospital. “There was a different type of passion and motivation surrounding the drive.  You could feel it rippling throughout the organization,” said Cox.

            With only a week to go it looked like two powerhouses were going at it – MPS and the Emergency Department, but at the last minute an outside contender, Clinical Engineering, swooped in and eliminated both MPS and the Emergency Department. Clinical Engineering donated over 3,400 items – that’s more than all the donated items from the first year. A total of 11,040 items were given back to our community. Donations were given to the Salvation Army, the Soup Kitchen and Christians United Outreach (CUOC).

            The third annual Mary Hope Treece Can Food Drive just concluded and over 7,000 items were donated to local charities – Christians United Outreach, Communities in Schools and Our Daily Bread.

            “Mary was blessed and wanted to share what she had with others. She was drawn to those in need. She listened when you didn’t even know she was listening. Often trying to discern if you had a need she could help meet. She would look for ways to make others feel special,” said Cox. “I think she would be happy and honored knowing that her legacy is continuing.”

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About Randolph Health

Randolph Health is a comprehensive, community-based health system based in Asheboro, North Carolina. We are a nationally recognized health and wellness system, combining the best of health technology and highly trained and certified medical professionals with personalized care designed to support the unique needs of each patient and their family. Through our 145-bed hospital, extensive network of primary care and specialty physician offices, outpatient rehabilitation centers, homecare services, advanced imaging and accredited cancer center, we offer access to the latest care and treatment. But we believe that great clinical care alone is not enough. That’s why we have a reputation for providing a care experience that recognizes the dignity of each human being–treating each person we serve as a person, not a number.