December 16, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: DEBORAH ROBERTS PUGH

(662) 377-3712

Visit www.nmhs.net for an electronic version of this article.

GOOD NEIGHBOR GRANTS BENEFIT AREA COMMUNITIES

WEST POINT, Miss.—The Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi helps North Mississippi Medical Center employees be good neighbors in their own communities and around the world.

One recent grant project warms the heart as well as battered and abused children. Brenda Johnson, human resources director at NMMC-West Point, received a Good Neighbor grant to provide materials used in making handmade quilts for Sally Kate Winters Memorial Children’s Home in West Point. Johnson has helped raise funds in the community for a group of local quilters that meets weekly and sews each child a quilt complete with a “God Loves You” label and his or her name. Each child can take his or her quilt upon leaving the shelter.

A previous Good Neighbor grant helped establish an on-site medical clinic at the children’s home so that each child can have a complete physical examination days after arrival.

Harden House, an organization in Fulton that houses abused or neglected girls, is another beneficiary of Good Neighbor funding. Les Perry, director of NMMC’s Ambassador Services, requested the grant to purchase school supplies for the residents.

Three NMMC employees used their Good Neighbor grants to benefit communities around the globe. A grant awarded to Hank Boerner, director of NMMC Wellness Centers in Baldwyn, Iuka, Pontotoc and Tupelo, helped provide housing in Mexico. A Good Neighbor grant in 2002 helped pay Boerner’s way for a mission trip with First Presbyterian Church of Tupelo. The 2003 grant helped purchase building materials for a similar mission project in Mexico.

Karen M. Hatfield, nursing analyst supervisor with NMMC’s Management Information Systems, joined a group from First Baptist Church of Booneville to offer medical and dental services during a mission trip to Belize.

Kay Lawler, data processing coordinator at NMMC-West Point, and her family took advantage of Good Neighbor funding to help start new churches in rural Mexico, as well as support an orphanage and train pastors. Their group from Immanuel Baptist Church in Columbus assisted with construction and maintenance work during their mission trip.

Good Neighbor grant funding is made possible through the interest earned on employee contributions to the Foundation. Any NMMC employee who participates in the Foundation's annual giving program may request a Good Neighbor grant, as long as he or she is personally involved with the project. The project must be consistent with NMMC’s mission and be sponsored by a legally registered charitable organization, such as a church or service club. For more information on the Good Neighbor Fund, call (662) 377-3136 or 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).

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