Our team members are committed to caring for patients and their families, both within and outside our hospitals’ walls.
That’s why staff from three TUH-Main Campus units—7 North Boyer, the Neuro ICU, and 8 Boyer, all supervised by Director of Nursing Services Marie Ciceron, MSN, RN, SCRN—recently visited Gift of Life Howie’s House to cook a meal for residents. Located just a few miles from Broad Street, Howie’s House provides cost-effective lodging and supportive services to the families of patients who have come to Philadelphia for lifesaving organ transplants.
“We wanted to give back to the community, but we also wanted to bring people together,” says Krystal Cartagena, MBA, BSN, BA, SCRN, NE-BC, Associate Director of Nursing Services for 7 North Boyer. “We learned about the opportunity to volunteer at Howie’s House at the monthly ICU committee meeting, since they collaborate so much with Gift of Life. We presented it to our team members, and said, ‘We know you’re always bringing in meals for birthday parties and other celebrations. How about we come together and cook for our community?’”
“When I approached our team, a lot of people wanted to contribute,” says Cristina Ciuciu, BSN, RN, Associate Director of Nursing Services for the Neuro ICU. “Some staff members donated their time, and others donated money so we could purchase ingredients and goods for Howie’s House.”
A Mouthwatering Menu
Ciuciu, Cartagena, and Ciceron joined Indira Kwaadu, BSN, RN, Associate Director of Nursing for 8 Boyer, and several other team members in preparing a meal for Howie’s House’s 50 residents.
“We made chicken, salad, pasta, tomato sauce, cheese, dinner rolls, and chocolate chunk cookies,” Cartagena remembers.
“There were vegan, vegetarian, and meat options: whatever you wanted, we had it,” Ciuciu adds. “Our team members really had fun, and so did the people we served. From their comments, they really enjoyed it.”
“We got a really nice thank-you card from Howie’s House just last week, telling us, ‘The chicken was so delicious, and the salad was so fresh,’” Cartagena says. “It was great to know they appreciated it.”
Encouraging Team Spirit
As all three units are located in Boyer, with Ciceron as their Director, they see each other as “sister units,” and would like to do more activities together. “We’ve been trying to foster a sense of team spirit,” Cartagena explains. “This event was great, because there were also fewer barriers between staff and managers, and the team members who came got to see us as people. They got to watch us have fun and see how we are outside of work. I brought my daughter, and I got to see one of my team member’s sons, who I’ve heard so much about.”
Howie’s House’s mission also made volunteering there especially rewarding for many participants. “Any time I have the opportunity to give back, I do, because community outreach is so important to me,” Kwaadu says. “And what Howie’s House does really matters, because organ donation makes such a difference.”
The event’s success has made the team want to plan other, similar outings so they can return to the number of community service activities they had pre-COVID. “It feels like we’re rediscovering our joy,” Cartagena says.
