The road to recovery from Hurricane Ida just got a little easier for St. Tammany Health System colleagues affected by the storm.
The Vizient Foundation on Thursday (Sept. 23) donated $10,000 to the nonprofit St. Tammany Hospital Foundation. The money will be distributed to STHS colleagues in need through the health system’s Colleague Benevolent Fund.
The fund, which is financed largely through employee donations, was started in 1991 to assist fellow colleagues in immediate needs of the necessities of life due to conditions beyond their control. In the wake of Hurricane Ida, the fund’s steering committee launched an Ida-specific relief effort to help colleagues affected by the storm.
“If our colleagues are in crisis, they can’t help in the crisis,” foundation Executive Director Nicole Suhre said, explaining the thought behind the Ida assistance program.
For Vizient, helping member hospitals in tough times is simply an extension of its overall mission to strengthen those hospitals by aligning cost, quality and market performance.
“Where there’s a need for our member hospitals, we reach out and ask what those needs are,” said Vizient Director of Networks Michael McLemore, BSN RN.
In fact, even as Ida was unfolding, Vizient was reaching out to St. Tammany Health System to find out how it could help, according to STHS President and CEO Joan Coffman.
“They truly care about the people they serve,” Coffman said.
It’s not the first time Vizient has come to the aid of STHS colleagues. After the floods of 2016, Vizient donated $29,000 to help take care of the health system’s team.
“We’re just happy to be able to give back and help how we can,” McLemore said.