Guadalupe Regional Medical Center | Health Currents | Fall 2020

Our hospital is celebrating its 55th anniversary this fall. We first opened our doors in August 1965 as Guadalupe Valley Hospital—and we have been growing and expanding ever since. The name of Guadalupe Regional Medical Center was adopted in 2005 to better reflect the wide, multi-county area we serve. Certainly never in its history has this independent, noncorporate, nonprofit hospital experienced the likes of our COVID-19 emergency. While there is much to celebrate about the tremendous response provided by GRMC, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our equally outstanding community, who stood by our side and donated generously to support our needs and staff. Stronger together Among the many local groups and individuals who stepped forward to help: •  TLU provided lodging to our frontline staff members who were concerned about bringing home the virus and endangering their families. •  Walmart created a special early- morning shopping hour for our healthcare providers. •  SEDC coordinated a mask drive from local industries, and Vitesco donated shoe covers. •  Niagara Bottling, LLC, and Bimbo A heartfelt thanks to our community Bread provided donations to our staff and food drives. •  Pure and Gentle donated hand sanitizer. •  A collaboration of local industries led by Phil Rinn, MD, and Alamo Group CEO Ian Burden collected over $100,000 for the purchase of COVID-19 testing equipment for the hospital. Special thanks to Alamo Group, Caterpillar, CMC, GVEC, EPMP, Tyson Chicken, Republic Plastics and Minigrip. •  The Seguin Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Council and SISD collected and contributed various personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies. •  James Rider, DO, and Michele Lopez- Glynn, MD, communicated with local employers and school districts. •  Whitney Bischoff, TLU Nursing Instructor, helped create educational staff videos on the proper use of PPE. •  City and county officials quickly and whole-heartedly supported GRMC in our COVID-19 response. •  Local churches offered ongoing prayer chains and donations, such as iPads for families and much-appreciated snack baskets for our staff. •  Innumerable local individuals donated hand-sewn face masks for our staff and volunteers. It has been our privilege to help connect the generous donors from our community to the hospital staff and regional medical community. Having deep roots here in Seguin, we are well aware of how profoundly blessed we are to live and work in this kindhearted community! Help us fund our new Women’s Imaging Center Construction is soon to start on our state-of-the-art Women’s Imaging Center within the hospital facility. This wildflower-themed addition will provide a private setting for advanced breast imaging and other diagnostic modalities specifically designed for women. We have secured $375,000 in generous donations for this cause, but we are still looking to raise the remaining $125,000 needed for this important and comprehensive new service. Monetary donations can be made at grmedfoundation.org . By Elaine Bennett, Guadalupe Regional Medical Foundation CEO, and Deana Henk, Guadalupe Healthcare Network CEO grmedcenter.com  | 5