The Reading Hospital Magnet Champions Team partnered with Helping Harvest to coordinate the 2022 Pound Per Person Food Challenge at Reading Hospital. All Hospital employees were challenged to donate one pound of food per person – with a goal to collect 6,000 pounds total to support Helping Harvest and the more than 110,000 people it feeds annually.
Generous and caring employees surpassed that goal by donating 8,800 pounds of food.
More than 90 departments participated and donated food staples such as canned goods, cereals, pastas, personal hygiene items, pet food, cleaning products, and more. Two teams are being recognized for making the largest per capita and largest overall donations. The Reading Hospital Center for Public Health, a team of 13 individuals, collected 308.7 pounds (23.75 pounds per person). The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) nursing team of 40 individuals collected a total of 331.02 pounds.
"The past two years have been difficult for all of us," said Rosemary Wurster, DNP, RN, MPH, NEA-BC, CEN, Reading Hospital Chief Nursing Officer. "I am so proud that after everything our team members have been through, they wanted to support Helping Harvest to ensure that the underserved families and individuals in our community have access to healthy food."
Jay Worrall, President, Helping Harvest, said, "Helping Harvest is so grateful to the team members at Reading Hospital for their help in feeding our hungry neighbors. This is Helping Harvest's largest annual corporate food drive, and the team collected slightly more than double last year's amount. We look forward to continuing this food drive with them next year."
About Reading Hospital
Reading Hospital is the flagship, Magnet Recognized, acute care hospital of Tower Health. Located in West Reading, Pa., Reading Hospital is a 697-bed hospital that is home to many top-tier specialty care centers, including Reading HealthPlex, McGlinn Cancer Institute, Miller Regional Heart Center, Emergency Department, Level I Trauma Center and Beginnings Maternity Center, which houses the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). With more than 1,000 physicians, specialists, and advanced practice providers across 49 locations, Reading Hospital has been recognized for its quality outcomes and clinical expertise across services lines. It is listed as one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for four consecutive years (and moving up to America's 50 Best Hospitals in 2022) and received a 5-Star Rating from CMS two years in a row. For more information, visit towerhealth.org.