Tomah Health thanked area doctors by supporting two area not for profit organizations.
Tomah Health marketing & public relations director Eric Prise said in recognition of Doctors’ Day March 30, $1,000 donations were given to the St. Clare Health Mission of Monroe County and to Tomah’s Neighbor for Neighbor Food Pantry on behalf of the hospital and its providers. “We are very fortunate to have a great medical staff that helps us provide quality health care services to Tomah and the surrounding communities 365 days a year,” said Prise. “As a community hospital, we recognize the importance of supporting other organizations that share in our mission of taking care of the residents of Monroe County. These contributions are a small way for us to show our appreciation to our health care professionals while supporting two vital organizations,” he added.
St. Clare medical director Dr. Michael Saunders, M.D. said the donation will help with health care services and supplies at the facility in Sparta. “All of our activities at St Claire are entirely supported by contributions like this one, and they allow us to provide care for uninsured adults in Monroe County without insurance who meet our poverty guidelines,” explained Saunders. “The last couple of years have shown significant increases year to year in our patient volumes, so these funds will be put to good use.”
Saunders said the mission relies on volunteers, including health care professionals, to supply the workforce that operates the mission. “Simply put, if you don’t have providers, you can’t provide service. We’ve had longer days than we have in years so that’s both good and bad. It means that that people who are eligible for our services are hearing about it, but it also means that there are people that are eligible for our service.”
Food Pantry operations director Dawn Pleuss said the donation is timely considering the organization will be responsible for paying its share to install sidewalk, curb, and gutter as part of a street project on West Veterans Street in Tomah. “That is a huge expense for the pantry, and this will really help towards that,” said Pleuss.
She said the pantry has been extremely busy providing food to 575 households a month. “The numbers keep continuing to grow higher and higher. They’re actually higher than they have been in the last seven years. It’s really hard out there nowadays with everything being so expensive and people just need a little extra help and that’s what we’re here for,” Pleuss added.
Prise said the hospital has made similar donations to local organizations for more than 15 years to recognize the work and dedication of local health care providers. “The very first Doctors’ Day observance was organized in the state of Georgia on March 30, 1933,” Prise explained. He said legislation was introduced in both the House and Senate in 1990 establishing a national Doctors’ Day, which was signed into law by then President George Bush.