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Veterans Day offers an
opportunity to take a moment to honor those who have served and
are currently serving in our U.S. armed forces. These women and
men have given up time with their loved ones, risked their lives
and, in some cases, sacrificed all to defend our country.
At Lee Memorial Health
System, our employees, physicians and volunteers are much more
than health care providers. They are also mothers, fathers,
brothers, sisters, grandparents and other family members and
friends who have loved ones representing our country.
Our health system is
enormously proud to support these troops and their families
through the Lee Memorial Health System Military Support Team.
Military Support was launched in April 2003 as a way to provide
support and comfort to deployed servicemen and servicewomen and
their families affiliated with our health system. In 2005, we
made the program communitywide because we serve our community.
To date, the program has
sponsored 979 local troops and sent more than 33,000 pounds of
care packages to armed forces men and women stationed around the
world.
“These care packages mean
a lot to those who are so very far away from those they love,”
says Kim Gaide, office manager for Associates in Cardiac Care
and Gulf Coast Pulmonary & Sleep Center and founder of Military
Support. The packages contain everything from extra socks and
playing cards to snack foods and holiday greeting cards that the
troops can send home to their families. “We will even
personalize the care packages,” Kim said. “For instance, we had
one soldier who did not eat junk food, so he asked for healthy
snacks. That’s what we sent him from then on.”
Family members of Military
Support’s soldiers help to assemble the care packages as a sort
of fellowship.
Kim first became
passionate about supporting our service personnel when her son
served overseas. She recalls fondly the time his commander made
a special request for his care package: Hot Tamales. “I figured
out that he meant cinnamon candy, so I stuffed three five-pound
bags in a box and sent them to him,” she says with a chuckle.
“He never asked for anything else, and he hid his ‘stash’ so he
could ration them during his deployment.”
Military Support also
provides support for family members, whether it’s helping a
family get their car repaired or calling up the electric company
to see about an extension on a bill. The program even helped
organize a spur of the moment wedding for a soldier who wanted
to marry her sweetheart while on leave.
It’s not just our active
military personnel who receive care from Military Support. The
team also has multiple events throughout the year to honor our
veterans, including “Suite Support for the Military,” which
provides VIP treatment to a service member and nine of his or
her friends and family members at a Florida Everblades home game
during the 2010-2011 season. All 72 home games have sold out
this season for the program, which includes a private box, VIP
parking, complimentary drinks and a buffet and special
recognition during the game. Military Support and our SHARE Club
program also team up each year to host a “Salute Our Troops”
breakfast honoring veterans, active servicemen and servicewomen
and their families.
One way to help support
our troops is to take advantage of the annual Military Support
and Mason’s Bakery and HoneyBaked Ham Thanksgiving fundraiser,
which allows you to help our soldiers and enjoy some tasty food
for the holiday! You have until Nov. 19 to submit your order.
Military Support is a
truly wonderful asset to our community. While Kim’s son was
honorably discharged a few years ago, Kim and her team are still
going strong.
When anyone asks Kim how
long our health system will provide this dedicated support to
our servicemen and servicewomen and their families, her answer
is always the same: “Until the last one comes home!”
If you’d like to learn
more about Military Support or place an order for the
Thanksgiving promotion, go to
www.LeeMemorial.org/jobs/jobs_military_support.asp.
Peace,
Jim Nathan
President, Lee Memorial Health System
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