Asheville not-for-profit Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care received national attention for its Haiti project when it received the Urgent Care Association of America’s (UCAOA) prestigious Humanitarian Award. It is the second time the industry has given the award for dedicated philanthropy work. The award was presented at the organization’s annual celebration in Orlando, Fla. The Humanitarian Award recognizes substantial volunteer contributions that are medically related and have a positive impact on a national or international cause.
“Sisters
of Mercy Urgent Care is a stellar representation of our industry with its
incredible international charitable efforts over the past year – truly making
the world a better, healthier place in areas that need it most,” said P. Joanne
Ray, chief executive officer of UCAOA. “We are honored to award Sisters of
Mercy Urgent Care our second annual Humanitarian Award.”
Sisters
of Mercy Urgent Care's (SOMUC) Mercy for Haiti project began in 2010 following
the deadly 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 316,000 and injured
more than 300,000 additional people on the island nation. SOMUC’s Team Mercy
made it their mission to provide health care to the people of Haiti, sending
medical supplies and teams of volunteers to treat those affected by the
earthquake.
The
project initially provided medical care to those critically injured in the
earthquake, but Team Mercy continued to work with the same physicians for six
years, going back with teams four times each year to provide treatment for
prevalent illnesses, many of which are caused by malnutrition and poor living
conditions. On May 22, Team Mercy will make their fourteenth trip to Haiti,
working alongside their Haitian colleagues to treat approximately 1,000
patients over a five-day period.
“The
staff of Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care is honored to receive the 2016 Urgent
Care Association of America Humanitarian Award for our mission work,” said
Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care Medical Director Ellen Lawson, M.D. “When the
devastating earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, we felt the call to serve as
emergency disaster relief because we could be the hearts, hands and feet of
mercy on the ground in Haiti.”
Since 2010, Sisters of Mercy
Urgent Care has completed 14 missions – 13 to Haiti and one to the Philippines
– providing medical care, supplies and food for those in need.
In combination with
international medical missions, each year SOMUC provides more than a half a
million dollars in charitable and uncompensated medical care in Western North Carolina.
“Pope Francis has declared
this year as the Jubilee Year of Mercy, so the timing of this award has special
meaning for us,” said Dr. Lawson. “The Sisters of Mercy’s commitment to service has
continued, uninterrupted, for 116 years. As we serve people, whether it be
locally or internationally, we strive to not only deliver good healthcare but
to do so in a spirit of mercy.”
This award comes at the start
of National Urgent Care Awareness Month, an industry-wide campaign to educate
patients about when to seek medical treatment at an urgent care center versus a
hospital emergency room and the important role urgent care centers play in
overall patient care and health. According to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 1/3 of all emergency-room visits are not life threatening. In
addition to freeing up ER staff for true crises, visiting urgent care
facilities for non-life threatening injuries and illnesses can save both time
and money.
Sisters of Mercy’s efforts in
Haiti are supported by donations to the Catherine McAuley Mercy Foundation,
which allow Sisters of Mercy to perform this important, life-saving work. Contributions
may be made at www.urgentcares.org/mercy.
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