Hospital announces 'Champions of Care' program

Euphamia Thompson. That’s the name of the nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Oklahoma who worked such miracles with my dad when he woke up from colon surgery with a colostomy bag attached to his side.

Although it happened three years ago, I still remember Euphamia as if it was yesterday. She made the process of learning to function with a colostomy easier for my 83-year-old dad. In her kind, gentle manner, she helped him maintain his dignity through what could have been an embarrassing learning process. Euphamia had many patients, but she always made my dad feel like he was the only one.  

Many of us have a story of someone like Euphamia who went the extra mile for us. At Bonner General, we often receive cards and letters from patients or their families telling us how a particular doctor, nurse, technician or staff member made a positive difference in their hospital stay.

This is just one of the reasons the BGH Foundation established the new Champions of Care program, which publicly recognizes those on our staff who go the extra mile for our patients or their families.

If you or a loved one receives outstanding care from someone at Bonner General, you can recognize them as a Champion of Care and help support the hospital’s good work by making a donation in their honor. When you give a gift to recognize your Champion of Care, he or she is recognized in front of their peers at a department ceremony and receives a custom lapel pin to wear each day while continuing the work that touches so many in our community. At the end of the year, the BGH Foundation honors and thanks all of the Champions of Care and the individuals who recognized them by bringing them together for a reception.

Your gift not only recognizes and encourages excellence in care and service, but it also helps us provide better health care to the entire community by funding new technology and equipment, community wellness programs and so much more.

Euphamia was a shining example of a Champion of Care, and her story is just one of many. We have a wonderful staff at Bonner General, and I’m personally grateful that we now have a way for people to formally and publicly recognize those individuals who truly make a difference for our patients and their loved ones.

n Lynda Metz is the director of community development at Bonner General Hospital. For more information about the hospital, please visit www.BonnerGeneral.org.