Photo By Lori Newman | Representatives from Medical Management and the Trauma Department at Brooke Army...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FOR SAM HOUSTON, Texas (March 20, 2023) -- The Brooke Army Medical Center Auxiliary held its annual Welfare Recognition Ceremony March 9.
For more than 70 years the BAMC Auxiliary has worked to raise money to provide items to assist BAMC staff and patients. This year, the welfare committee approved 22 grants totaling more than $30,000 to help support patient care at BAMC.
“Auxiliary President Sarah Krell and her extraordinary team do so much for Team BAMC,” said BAMC Commanding General Brig. Gen. Deydre Teyhen. “Command Sgt. Major Reynolds and I are so thankful for their dedication and support to our patients and staff members.”
Some of this year’s grant requests included taxi vouchers, clothing for trauma patients, portable cell phone charging stations, educational materials, and durable medical equipment.
Teyhen spoke about how much the Auxiliary’s support impacts BAMC trauma patients.
“We bring trauma patients in and sometimes they can’t get home without a taxi voucher or during their intake we have to cut off all their clothes to treat them and they wouldn’t have clothes to go home in without the support of the Auxiliary,” the general said.
Teyhen also touted how important educational materials are for patients.
“Those books are incredibly precious to their recovery and their healing, and their ability to understand each phase of what they are going through,” she said.
Krell praised the Welfare and Grants committee for their efforts. “Thank you all for the time you dedicated to the grant process in support of our military community,” she said.
One example of items donated includes headphones preloaded with music specifically designed to help patients relax. Several studies have shown that music used in the pre-operative period, during procedures, and post-operatively can decrease anxiety and stress, and may even lower pain scores.
Inpatient Pediatrics received wall decals to replace the current characters on their walls. The stickers around the ward are among the first things patients see upon getting admitted.
“Artwork has been known to have positive benefits on pediatric anxiety, pain, and overall experience,” Krell explained.
“The Auxiliary is currently underway in a service project to replace other wall artwork with new prints from local area school children, as well as replanting the outside Alamo area along with a rock painting project with the pediatric clinic to provide even more color and cheer,” she added.
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit requested infant bathtubs, infant swings, and Beads of Courage supplies. The National "Beads of Courage" program offers babies a way to tell their story through strands of beads.
“BAMC was the first and still only DOD NICU to offer this program with funding from a previous Auxiliary grant,” Krell said. “This grant allows for the expansion into the new National Sibling Beads of Courage program to recognize the difficulties of being a sibling of a sick child, whether in the NICU or as well as Pediatric cancer ward and other chronic cases.”
Other items included pedometers for surgery patients, magazine subscriptions for the Medical Library, and taxi vouchers for trainees and staff members who are too tired to drive home.
“It is truly amazing to see the diversity of these requests and the many different ways our military medical providers are going above and beyond,” Krell said. “The BAMC Auxiliary stands in awe of what you do and we are humbled to have the opportunity to support your efforts.”
| Date Taken: | 03.20.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.20.2023 11:55 |
| Story ID: | 440746 |
| Location: | FORT SAM HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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