Banner Boswell volunteers donate 750 uniforms to Afghani hospital
SUN CITY, Ariz. (Dec. 3, 2009) – Volunteers at Banner Boswell Medical Center recently donated more than 750 former uniforms to CURE International Hospital of Kabul in Afghanistan. The uniforms will be used by staff at CURE International.
The teal uniforms that have become recognizable in the Banner Boswell and Banner Del E. Webb communities – sporting the hospitals’ former Sun Health logo – are being replaced with eggplant-colored tops featuring the Banner Health logo.
All Banner Health volunteers and employees working in acute-care hospitals throughout Arizona will be wearing new standardized uniforms by March 1, 2010. Different colors denote specific roles they each have in the patient care environment. “The standardized dress code allows staff and volunteers to be more quickly identified according to their role, which enhances patient safety,” said Julie Mudric, director of Volunteer Services at Banner Boswell. “While our colors are changing, our dedication to our patients, visitors and our community is unwavering.”
Planning the mass donation was a team effort between the hospital’s volunteers and staff. Mudric was referred to CURE International by Jon Hillegas, MD, a surgeon with Banner Arizona Medical Clinic. In 2007, Dr. Hillegas and his wife Marge, a retired Banner Boswell nurse, spent a year in Afghanistan. Dr. Hillegas taught surgery to Afghani physicians, while Marge worked with a team to help train Afghani women to become nurses’ aides. Banner Boswell’s Medical Staff Services department also contributed to the effort.
CURE International is a nonprofit organization that addresses the medical needs of populations in developing countries. The organization operates 10 hospitals and has treated more than 1 million patients since 1996. For more information about CURE International, visit http://www.cureinternational.org/.
Banner Boswell boasts 1,600 active volunteers, from age 14 (junior volunteer program) to 102. On average, there are 100-150 volunteers in the hospital each day. In 2008, volunteers worked 168,000 hours. To learn more about volunteering at Banner Boswell, please call (623) 876-5387.
About Banner Boswell Medical Center
Banner Boswell Medical Center is a 430-bed, acute-care hospital located in Sun City, Arizona. Founded in 1970, Banner Boswell offers heart services, cancer care, orthopedics, neurosciences, women’s diagnostics, emergency care, and medical and surgical services. Banner Boswell is part of nonprofit Banner Health, the leading provider of health services in the Valley with 22 hospitals throughout the West. For more information about Banner Boswell, visit www.BannerHealth.com/Boswell.
Contact: Lisa Guinn
Phone: (623) 876-5704
