Submitted by Summit Pacific Medical Center
Summit Pacific Medical Center has launched a new community service program this holiday season. The “Summit Fights Hunger” campaign aims to help as many local families in need as possible by providing a holiday meal pack. The program is designed to create awareness, support families living in the rural hospital district and to help spread holiday cheer.
The idea stemmed from generous staff members wanting to do community service projects within their own departments. In the past SPMC’s primary care clinics have raised food with their own internal “food bowl” and departments have adopted families for the holidays. As the employee count grew at SPMC, so did the ideas for ways to serve the Grays Harbor community. It became apparent to hospital leadership that combining forces and focusing on one project would make the biggest community impact.
Summit Pacific Medical Center CEO, Josh Martin, said:
“As Summit Pacific prepares to open our new wellness center, we are focused on identifying and supporting programs and services that create a culture of health and wellness for Grays Harbor. This includes doing what we can as an organization, to address the underlying needs of our community, one of which is hunger.”
The campaign is seeking to provide meals for 120 or more families, which would translate to nearly 500 people. Primary care providers within SPMC’s three primary care clinics have nominated families in need to receive the meals. Holiday Meal Packs include a turkey or ham, fresh green beans, potatoes, yams, stuffing, rolls, butter, salad, salad dressing, a bottle of sparkling cider and pumpkin pie.
Meals will be provided to a variety of community members including those who are not able prepare a hot meal themselves, people with chronic diseases and to families of various sizes. The SPMC team is making sure they cater to the various needs of recipients by providing meals that meet individual dietary restrictions or meals that need to be delivered hot.
Community members are invited to participate in the campaign, which runs through Dec. 15, by helping raise funds in an effort to fight hunger. Holiday Meal Packs can be purchased in person at Café Salute, located within Summit Pacific Medical Center, or on the Summit Pacific Medical Center website. The cost of one holiday meal pack is $25; each purchase feeds a family of four.
“The team here at Summit Pacific is passionate about this new campaign and are excited to help in any way they can. Together we can help make this holiday season a little brighter for some of our neighbors and community members,” said Martin. So far, the program has raised enough funds to feed 35 families.
For more information or to donate online, visit The Summit Pacific Medical Center website. Inquiries can be directed to Natalie Jensen, event coordinator at natalie.jensen@sp-mc.org or 360-346-2345.
