Feel whole – it’s the brand promise at AdventHealth. But what does it mean?
It is an invitation to experience wholeness in all aspects of life – body, mind and spirit. And it is how AdventHealth approaches caring for the people in their facilities and in their communities. Seeing each person as a whole person who deserves to feel whole in every aspect of their lives.
Feel Whole Through Health
With a focus on connecting and supporting the local community Shawnee, Kansas, AdventHealth partnered with local schools Shawanoe Elementary School and Trailridge Middle School. The neighborhood where the schools are located was identified through the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) in 2019 and has been leading the way to build additional partnerships with other local organizations to increase the positive impact in the community.
“As part of AdventHealth’s community health plan, the hospital supports Shawanoe Elementary School in connecting low-income and minority families with needed resources,” said Jeanette Metzler, community benefit manager at AdventHealth in Kansas. “As part of the back-to-school events, Shawanoe teachers and staff delivered backpacks and books that were donated by AdventHealth to their students living in the neighboring apartments. The families were invited back to the school for a picnic and enjoyed a colorful shaker of fruit also provided by the hospital.”
The evening before the school year began, families attended the school’s “Sneak-A-Peak” to see their classrooms and meet their teachers. AdventHealth invited community partners to assist parents in scheduling immunizations and to connect families to other resources including health coverage and food assistance. The New Haven Hope Bus, a mobile food pantry, was also onsite for families needing extra assistance with food.
Through the partnership with the schools, AdventHealth has also been able to host kid’s clubs—a benefit for both the school and the community. One of those clubs is the Kids
Healthy Cooking Club taking place after school over six weeks. Lisa Markley, MS, RDN, director of culinary medicine at AdventHealth Kansas City connected with Kansas State University Extension to create a curriculum and provide Master Food volunteers for the club to make the most out of the time they would have with the kids during each meeting. “We did classes on whole grains, fruits, vegetables and talked about how each supports key aspects of your health,” said Markley. “Some of the kids even recreated their favorite recipes at home from the club including our rainbow salsa, English muffin pizzas and peanut butter chocolate chip energy bites.”
The cooking club has made a major positive impact on the kids and families from the school. “When we surveyed the kids after the six-week club, 46% said they are eating more fruits and vegetables, and 37% said they have prepared the recipes they learned at home,” said Metzler.
Feel Whole Through Learning
This summer, up to 100 kids and grandkids of AdventHealth team members in Colorado enjoyed participating in summer camp as part of the long-standing partnership and collaboration between AdventHealth and the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
“Through the generous funding of AdventHealth, we have been able to offer $250 scholarships to young campers whose parents or grandparents work at AdventHealth hospitals in Colorado,” shared Brandon Westgate, youth director at the Rocky Mountain Conference. “It has been a really impactful partnership, with many of these campers telling us that camp has been one of the most impactful weeks of their life.”
Summer camp scholarship recipients were able to attend a one-week camp session at either Glacier View Ranch in Ward, Colorado, or Mills Spring Ranch in Casper, Wyoming. Campers selected from various age-specific sessions, including the Explore, Adventure, Ignite, Summit or Teen Outpost Camp, with camp sessions running in June and July. Campers enjoyed different guided activities with their cabin mates and counselor. Older participants were able to sign up for their favorite activities, including rock climbing, horsemanship, swimming, bouldering, canoeing and arts and crafts.
“My boys have both attended the Explore Camp in the past, and they can’t wait to return,” shared Emily Stenzel, New Life Center clinical coordinator at AdventHealth Avista. “The variety of activities allowed them to try a number of new things. They especially enjoyed archery, morning worship, horseback riding and the [fort building] course. Being away from home for the week allowed them to feel a sense of independence and self-fulfillment.”
To learn more about the scholarship opportunity for AdventHealth families in Colorado, visit RMCYouth.org.
Feel Whole Through Worship
Shortly after the opening of AdventHealth Castle Rock south of Denver, Colorado, David Martinez, director of mission integration for that facility, realized there was no Adventist church in Castle Rock for church members to worship locally. “Some of us that worked in the hospital decided we needed to start a church plant here at the hospital to meet that need, “said Martinez.
He shared his hopes for a new church community with the Rocky Mountain Conference and soon they began collaborating to make it happen. The new congregation began meeting in the fourth-floor lobby of the hospital. “We thought it was a good place to witness,” said Martinez. “Anyone coming in through the front door on Sabbath could hear the music.”
Since then, the church plant has continued to grow and moved to different locations over the years to accommodate their growth. Now, they meet in the hospital conference rooms allowing them to continue to add to the congregation and allow for families of patients in the hospital to attend the church services too.
“The mission of the church is to really nurture the local community, and they even round in the hospital and will have dedicated prayer time for those in the hospital,” said Martinez. “We have had family members of patient’s worship with us, even security guards and associates from the hospital join the service. And I think that is really just a beautiful thing.”
