Hospitals donate $10K to nonprofit

From left, Kaitlyn Wilson-Butler, communications/community engagement director HCA Florida Healthcare in Ocala; Nicola Gaskin, Haley Garr and Josey Robinson, nurse managers at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital; Karla Greenway, CEO, Interfaith Emergency Services; the hospital’s CEO Alan Keesee, Chief Nursing Officer Sonna Harding and Oncology Director Lisa McGuire; and Sonya Tyler, IES director of operations. [Submitted photo]
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
HCA Florida Ocala Hospital and HCA Florida West Marion Hospital on Jan. 22 announced a $10,000 donation to Interfaith Emergency Services to fight hunger in Ocala/Marion County.
For the 2024 Healthy Food for Healthier Tomorrows Food and Nutrition Drive, HCA Healthcare hospitals nationwide were encouraged to be creative in building sculptures with cans and boxes of food donated by colleagues. Nursing managers at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital built a food structure in the shape of a smiling turkey to recognize the importance of helping neighbors during the holiday season.
The winner in each division received a $10,000 grant from the HCA Healthcare Foundation for a food bank serving its community. HCA Florida Ocala Hospital won for the North Florida division and selected the Interfaith Emergency Services food bank for the donation.
“HCA Florida Ocala Hospital is grateful to be able to assist Interfaith Emergency Services in the battle against food insecurity and to help our less fortunate neighbors have a pathway to a healthier tomorrow,” said Alan Keesee, CEO of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, in a news release. “I’m also very proud of our hospital colleagues who made this donation possible with their creativity, ingenuity, and desire to give back to our community.”
According to IES CEO Karla Greenway, the donation will fund a driver and a refrigerated truck to be used to pick up donated food from local grocery vendors. The food is free, but the nonprofit must provide transportation to distribute it to recipients.
“This $10,000 will keep our truck and driver funded for five months, and in those five months we will pick up approximately 365,000 pounds of food. This includes fresh produce, dairy, meats and nonperishable items, which are passed on to households in need within 48 hours. This amount of food will provide a week’s worth of groceries to 3,652 households. With an average of three persons per household, that feeds over 10,000 people. We can’t thank HCA Florida Ocala Hospital and HCA Florida West Marion Hospital enough for ensuring that we can sustain this ministry for the upcoming months,” Greenway noted.

Creative sculpture designed by nursing managers at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. [Submitted photo]