TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — After members within hospitals and area business leaders noticed a decline of local support toward frontline healthcare workers, WTWO-TV, Rick’s Smokehouse and Duke Energy teamed up to say “thank you” to frontline workers.
“We had a lot of donations in the beginning, cards, and food. It was a great thing. But, the thing is it ramped over the past couple of months and then plateaued and a lot of community support went down a little bit. It’s really nice to able to give this to the people dealing with COVID patients face to face,” Respiratory Therapy Manager Jimmy McKanna of Union Hospital said.
More than 100 donated meals from Rick’s Smokehouse went to Union Hospital in Terre Haute and Horizon Healthcare workers in Marshall, Illinois. Meals were distributed to intensive care units, respiratory units and to workers dealing in units facing the coronavirus.
According to McKanna, support locally is a driving force behind the teamwork and collaboration inside the hospital when facing outside challenges.
“When we get this, it drives us even more to make sure we are providing excellent care to our patients and getting them back into community because it really feels like we are working for a cause.” he said.
