Philanthropic organization supports medical community
The LSU Health Women’s Club has made changes to reflect the membership’s desire to expand in ways that will positively impact the lives of the LSU Health community and the people served.
“It’s no longer just for employees and spouses,” member Cherish Posey said. “The membership of the club is open to anyone from the LSU Health Shreveport community who would like to promote goodwill and fellowship in support of LSU Health Shreveport.”
As a welcoming committee, social outlet and service organization for women with a common interest to support the medical center, the club has offered women a variety of opportunities for volunteerism, friendship and fun. Objectives are to provide service to LSU Health Shreveport through activities, projects and other undertakings and to promote fellowship and unity among families of the LSU Health faculty and professional staff who are associated with LSU Health.
Posey, who moved here from Mississippi, was made to feel welcome. Three years ago, her husband came to LSU Health on a locum tenens assignment. Two months later, he was offered an assistant professor of anesthesia position, and they made their home here.
“I have met such a diverse group of philanthropic women who are so welcoming through the LSU Health Women’s Club,” Posey said. “This is such an enthusiastic volunteer organization with some of the most giving individuals around. By joining the club, I have been able to participate in the Arts in Medicine program and interact directly with patients and their families at the St. Jude Clinic located in the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, which is so rewarding and such a blessing to me.”
Posey said the club also provides “a social network for members to become better acquainted through various social activities, which allowed newcomers like me to gain insight into the Shreveport community and enjoy forming new friendships in the LSU Health Shreveport family.”
She said Arts in Medicine is a “wonderful art program that hospitalized and outpatient cancer patients who are receiving chemotherapy can participate in to help relieve the stress and pass the time of their chemo treatment.” The volunteer works with the patient on creating a meaningful piece of art that can be taken home with them. Sometimes, the patient helps create larger masterpieces that are later auctioned off or hung in the hallways of LSU Health or Feist-Weiller.
Berte Muslow, a 40-year member, said while the association with Feist-Weiller is a more recent group effort, initially when many were joining the faculty, the club became a great vehicle for integrating them into the community and supporting spouses and the medical center. “We developed interest groups around books and sewing and travel and began to develop fundraising projects to support different patient and department needs,” Muslow said.
Gina Marymont, president, said she has met incredible and generous women as they work together to support the LSU Health medical community through fundraising and service projects. She said the group has something for everyone. Volunteer opportunities also include assisting Reach Out and Read for the pediatric patients in the well/child outpatient early literacy program.
“Our two main fundraising events are the fall dinner and spring bake sale,” Marymont said. Past social events have included ballroom dancing classes, Painting with a Twist, a flower arranging class, travel club and the annual Jingle Mingle coffee.
The group’s book club has run continuously since January 1979. The purpose (besides the pure pleasure of each other’s company) is to expand reading beyond individual comfort zones, said Carol Grafton.
“We have over 25 members of various ages and from diverse geographic backgrounds,” Grafton said. “These differences add interest to the book discussions. Often we are reading books that we wouldn’t have selected on our own, and that broadens our reading experiences and gets us out of our comfort zones.”
Women faculty members, wives and partners of current faculty, retired women faculty, wives of retired faculty and widows of faculty have been members of the organization. Dues are $35 and are used primarily to support service projects and activities at the medical center.
The club generally donates approximately $4,000-5,000 a year. Items listed in the newsletter included a microwave for MICU, materials for baby clothes made by volunteers, basic clothing needs for patients, patient transportation and meal vouchers, providing the American Medical Student Research Journal and money for Arts in Medicine.
Cindy Granger has coordinated the service projects for 16 years.
“We are a small organization, but we like to think we can have an impact on the patients at University Health,” Granger said. “We have donated a lot of things to the Pediatric Department over the years, from train sets to rocking chairs for the nursery and NICU, to video games to now iPads. The most meaningful donations for me personally were those of blankets, socks, hats and scarves to the chemo patients at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center since I was a patient there myself.”
Upcoming events include a winter bake sale fundraiser Feb. 13 and a medical tour/speaker in March.
–Mary Ann Van Osdell
