It was a special day on Wednesday, June 19 as two organizations that suffered significant loss came together for support. On May 20, 2013, the Moore Medical Center in Moore, Oklahoma was devastated by a tornado that swept through the area. On April 28, 2014, Louisville’s Winston Medical Center suffered a similar fate.
This week, David Whitaker the CEO of the Norman Regional Health System, Anne Clouse with the Norman Regional Health Foundation and Jim Wade, a board member traveled to Louisville to “Pay it Forward” and provide support to our local WMC.
Hospital administrator Paul Black introduced Whitaker to the crowd of employees, dignitaries and members of the public. Whitaker spoke of his experiences not only with the Moore tornado but also of his experience in 1979 in Wichita Falls, Texas. Said Whitaker, “You don’t go through something like this without being marked for life. The key to success is how we read that mark and use it to become better afterwards.”
Whitaker also offered this advice, “Take time to laugh and cry with each other. Health care workers always stand ready to help our community in a time of need and sometimes that is at our own expense.”
The crowd cheered when Whitaker presented a check for $48,000 to Paul Black to be used for employee relief. 100% of the funds will go toward providing assistance for employees of Winston Medical Center who were affected by the recent tornado.
The funds were raised by employees of the Norman Regional System, the hospital auxiliary and the Norman Regional Help Foundation. WMC administrator, Paul Black indicated that a plan would be developed to distribute the funds as fairly as possible.
“Thank you will never be enough for this huge act of kindness from Norman Regional Health Systems. The appreciation felt, by so many not only for the monetary gift but also the emotional support and message of hope brought by this team, can not be put into words. May God bless each of you at NRHS and again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said Lacey Vowell, an employee of Winston Medical Center.
