{"id":9340,"date":"2025-11-03T21:28:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T21:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=9340"},"modified":"2025-11-03T21:28:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T21:28:13","slug":"crothall-associates-pack-love-into-suitcase-drive-for-foster-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=9340","title":{"rendered":"Crothall Associates Pack Love into Suitcase Drive for Foster Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Suzy\u00a0Lohman felt compelled to act when she learned that foster children treated at Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center often lacked proper bags for their belongings. Inspired by a hospital newsletter request for suitcases, duffel bags, and backpacks, Suzy launched a drive among EVS employees to collect these essential items. Many foster children, she knew, relied on trash bags to carry their clothes and personal items between homes and hospital visits.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

With approval from EVS Resident Regional Director of Operations Adam Wilhite, Suzy quickly engaged\u00a0roughly 424\u00a0EVS associates across the hospital\u2019s four campuses. The project, held in January, coincided with a service initiative in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Led by the EVS team at the Liberty Hospital campus,\u00a0Crothall\u00a0associates collected about 150 suitcases, duffel bags, and backpacks. Hospital-wide, approximately 400 items were donated to local charities, with the majority going to the hospital-supported foster care program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne reason the program was so successful is that donated items didn\u2019t have to be new\u2014they could be gently used,\u201d says Suzy, who donated a duffel bag. \u201cSo,\u00a0it could be a suitcase someone already had at home. In the end, we collected so many bags that the hospital sent someone to pick them up.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

EVS technician Amanda Holcomb donated several foldable duffel bags. \u201cI felt I needed to contribute because I want to help anyone in need,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cI want foster kids to have something nice to carry their belongings.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alyssa Binik-Thomas, Training Manager, said motherhood inspired her donation. \u201cAs a mother of three, it hurt to know children in foster care were carrying their things in trash bags. My children had outgrown their\u00a0Trunki\u00a0suitcase, and I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0hesitate to make sure at least one child had something of their own. Children in foster care deserve love and the\u00a0basic necessities\u00a0of life. This is the bare minimum we can do.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Special Trophy for\u00a0Crothall<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To recognize the\u00a0Crothall\u00a0EVS team, Cincinnati Children\u2019s held an awards breakfast, presenting a trophy to the team. The hospital also shared photos, a video with AI-generated images of children (to\u00a0comply with\u00a0HIPAA), and news stories on the intranet.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe breakfast and trophy were a wonderful surprise,\u201d says Lohman. \u201cIt\u2019s another example of strong leadership at the hospital and how much they value everyone here, including\u00a0Crothall.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0Crothall\u00a0team provided the largest share of donations, and we wanted to show our appreciation,\u201d says Haley Shropshire, the hospital\u2019s community engagement director.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crothall\u00a0leaders plan to repeat the suitcase drive annually, aiming to collect at least 150 items next year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor our associates to step up and provide the largest amount of donations is heartwarming,\u201d says Paul Easthon, Regional Director of Operations. \u201cTheir generosity, empathy, and dedication to the children made this effort especially meaningful.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Crothall Associates Pack Love into Suitcase Drive for Foster Children<\/a> appeared first on Crothall Healthcare<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Suzy\u00a0Lohman felt compelled to act when she learned that foster children treated at Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center often lacked proper bags for their belongings. Inspired by a hospital newsletter request for suitcases, duffel bags, and backpacks, Suzy launched a drive among EVS employees to collect these essential items. Many foster children, she knew, relied…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-medicine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9340"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}