UNITEAM is a group of dedicated Team Members interested in continuing quality healthcare services at East Jefferson General Hospital. Team Members support the UNITEAM / CARE Club Annual Fund at various levels. These funds are directed by the Foundation Board of Directors to purchase capital equipment and to support programs and expansion projects for the hospital.
In addition to supporting the Foundation, Team Members have the opportunity to support fellow team members in need through the Humanitarian Fund. The Humanitarian Fund provides financial assistance to participating team members faced with an unforeseen crisis. The fund was developed to provide a structured assistance program for team members in need. The Foundation and the hospital provided initial funding for the program, and it is sustained by team member annual contributions. If you are a team member in need and would like to apply for Humanitarian Funds, please click here to download and print the appropriate form.
UNITEAM Helps Member in Need
Barbara Brown was at work in Guest Services on a cold Friday morning in December 2006 when she received the frightened call from her granddaughter that the house was on fire. Barbara rushed home and stood in her driveway, wearing fireman’s boots to keep her feet dry, as she watched everything she owned burn. Neighbors began bringing blankets, clothes, and shoes for her and her granddaughter and great-grandchildren.
But Barbara’s neighbors were not the only ones already reaching out to lend a hand. A fellow Team Member in Guest Services, Angela Thomas, and her daughter, Barbara Malter, who also works for East Jefferson General Hospital in the Breast Center, handed Barbara papers and told her to sign them. Barbara wasn’t even sure what she was signing, but they were starting Barbara’s application process for help from UNITEAM’s Humanitarian Fund.
Many team members are unaware of the special Humanitarian Fund that provides immediate financial assistance for team members faced with an unforeseen crisis. The fund not only benefits team members, but is also funded by their donations, taking one dollar from every team member contribution to The Foundation through UNITEAM, and putting it towards the Humanitarian Fund.
Barbara, a widow, felt alone and small in the world. Everything she had worked so hard for was gone. When Barbara returned to work a week after the fire she was comforted by the hugs and encouragement of her hospital family. “I’ve had other jobs, but it’s different here. It’s definitely a team operation and I’ve never experienced that before. There was such an outpouring by my fellow team members,” says Barbara. The Foundation quickly responded to Barbara’s plight, thanks to her friend getting the process started. She received money for clothes and other immediate needs at a time when it was much needed. Barbara also received housing assistance from the hospital.
Barbara became a member of UNITEAM at her orientation to the hospital six months prior at the encouragement of her daughter who is also a supporter of UNITEAM. Receiving help from the Foundation, Barbara feels compelled to do more for UNITEAM. She feels a tremendous gratitude for how she was treated after the fire. “I’m so grateful to The Foundation and everyone that helped me through this difficult time. I hope my story will allow others to feel the way I do about UNITEAM and the hospital family.”
Barbara is comfortable in her new home now, in part to the help of her fellow team members and The Foundation. If you are a team member in need of assistance or know a team member who is, click here to fill out a UNITEAM application. If you would like to support The Foundation and it’s efforts to help the hospital and its community, click here.
