Carol Champion, Progressive Care Unit manager at HCA Florida Northwest Hospital, helped ready the grounds at C. Robert Markham Elementary School in Margate. Colleagues from HCA Healthcare’s East Florida Division also assisted with painting, power washing, and campus clean up.
September 7, 2023 – Thousands of Florida students are back at school with new back packs, notebooks, binders, pens, pencils and other much-needed supplies, thanks to the caregivers of HCA Florida Healthcare and its statewide We Show Up for Our Schools month of service.
Throughout July, nurses, technicians and others donated supplies and children’s books, stuffed backpacks, volunteered for campus beautification projects and collected cash donations to purchase supplies for school districts.
All told, HCA Florida Healthcare caregivers collected more than 130,000 individual items. They also donated 2,500 fully-supplied backpacks, more than 500 children’s books with personal messages inside, and close to $25,000 in cash and gift cards. HCA Florida Healthcare-affiliated hospitals also collected more than 275 pairs of new children’s shoes and 500 pairs of children’s underwear.
“We’re grateful for the outpouring of support from our caregivers across the state who recognize the importance of students having the supplies they need to start the school year right,” said Joe Flynn, associate vice president of community engagement for HCA Healthcare and president of the HCA Healthcare Hope Fund. “Studies show starting the school year with necessary supplies not only promotes learning, it boosts self-esteem and helps keep students in school.”
James Gavrilos, president and CEO of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach added,
“HCA Florida Healthcare is a catalyst for community health. And health begins with education.”
