Last month, as St. Elizabeth Healthcare Board of Trustees member Tom Dietz sat listening to an update on the system’s COVID-19 response, and something sparked. He and his wife, Patti, had been wondering what they could do to help others during this unusual holiday season.
“Everyone has been affected by the pandemic in some way, but the burden on the staff at St. Elizabeth Fort Thomas, where most of the system’s COVID-19 patients are being treated, has been exceptionally heavy,” said Dietz. “We knew they had to be physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted, so we thought, ‘Why not provide a holiday meal to lift their spirits and let them know the community is thinking of them?’”
Dietz reached out to several other friends of St. Elizabeth, and in one day pooled more than $12,000 to provide meals to every associate working at the “The Fort,” as it’s known by associates, on New Year’s Eve.
Over 600 individually packaged holiday meals from Dayton, Ky.-based Kate’s Catering & Personal Chef Services were delivered to each unit and department, on all three shifts.
“I had the pleasure of distributing many of the meals, and our associates were so appreciative and touched by this act of generosity,” said Troy Fedders, St. Elizabeth Foundation Director of Development. “Not only did it brighten their day, it supported a local catering business that has and continues to be very generous to our associates. What a wonderful display of gratitude for essential workers in healthcare and beyond!”
St. Elizabeth friends and neighbors who supported the cause:
Patti and Tom Dietz
Marlene and Ted Robinson
Dell Ann and Bob Sathe
Ginger and Pete Strange
Linda and Mickey Conner
Sandy and Marty Butler
Sue and Bill Butler
Kay and Fred Macke
Jean and Bill Zeck
Molly Dietz Hartman and Amy Dietz Lyons
Design Details Interior Group
Maile, Tekulve & Gray Construction
