| First Pitch Thrown to Open Pediatric Room |
 The Texas County Memorial Hospital Healthcare Foundation held a ceremonial "first pitch" to mark theopening of the new baseball-themed pediatric room on the South wing at TCMH. Gus Hunninghake, a Houston boy and son of Foundation board member, Mary Hunninghake, threw a baseball caught by Louie, the Springfield Cardinals mascot.
Approximately 100 donors, community members and hospital employees stopped in to take a look at the completed room and to snack on peanuts, popcorn and cracker jacks. "The Foundation is very proud to have been involved in organizing the creation and funding of this room for the hospital," Jay Gentry, Healthcare Foundation director, stated. The idea for the room came from an initial idea of keeping a rolling entertainment cart in the hospital for pediatric patients to use. The Foundation applied for a grant from Cardinals Care, the charitable arm of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, and in the grant application funding was requested for the cart and for other child and parent-friendly amenities for the room. Cardinals Care granted $1,782.00 for the pediatric room, and the Foundation solicited an additional $3,200.00 in donations from businesses and individuals to help complete the project. "The pediatric room is great addition to our hospital," Wes Murray, chief executive officer at TCMH, stated. "Although we don't have a lot of patients that are children, this room will be very comfortable for our young patients and their family members." Murray expressed his gratitude to the Healthcare Foundation for their work on the project. "This project is one that Administration had considered for some time," Murray said, "But it was through the work of the Foundation that our vision became a reality." The Healthcare Foundation is proud to recognize the St. Louis Cardinals and the following donors who made the project become a reality: Rolla Technical Institute/Rolla Technical Center; Dr. Jeff and Sandy Kerr; Fogle Enterprises Inc. - In memory of John Fogle; VIP Properties - Jan Watson & Pat Tackett; Cabool State Bank - Roger & Pegg Lindsey; St. John's Clinic of Houston - Dr. Tammy Albrecht & Dr. Michael Busha; Wal-Mart Foundation & Wal-Mart Supercenter of Houston; Jim & Mary Lou Gentry; Jay, Nancy, & Jayson Gentry; Andy Durham; Progressive Ozark Bank of Houston; Infinite Entertainment; Crowley's Homeworks; State Farm Insurance - Jim Feighery; Rawlings Sporting Goods; & Double R Pawn. |