Auxiliary’s Compassion Cards to Help Caregivers

By Yavonda Chase

So the UAMS Medical Center Auxiliary has begun raising money to provide caregivers in need with a $25 Compassion Card that they can use to buy food on the UAMS campus while their loved one is hospitalized.

The auxiliary kicked off its fundraising campaign for the new program on Feb. 11 with a reception in the UAMS Medical Center gallery.

“Compassion Cards are designed to help caregivers of patients in the hospital,” said Melanie Orintas, president of the auxiliary board.

UAMS employee Carol Skill loves on Rusty the therapy dog at a UAMS Medical Center Auxiliary fundraiser for Compassion Cards. The auxiliary also helps make therapy dogs available for patients.

UAMS employee Carol Skill loves on Rusty the therapy dog at a UAMS Medical Center Auxiliary fundraiser for Compassion Cards. The auxiliary also helps make therapy dogs available for visits to patient rooms.

About 50 people attended the event. Organizers said they are hoping to raise $12,500, enough for 500 cards, during the monthlong campaign, adding that they hope church groups, book clubs and other organizations will encourage their members to sponsor the cards. Donations for the $25 cards will be taken even after the campaign ends.

The donations are tax deductible, and every dollar goes to the cards, said Orintas. For more information about the program or to make a donation, call 501-686-5656.

Orintas said nurses, physicians and support staff had informed the auxiliary that a number of patients’ family members were going hungry while their loved one was in the hospital because they lacked the money to pay for meals. Others were sharing a tray with the patient for the same reason, depriving both of them adequate nutrition, she said.

For Caitlin McNally, an auxiliary board member, the issue is a serious one.

“You only need four things to survive — you need water, you need air, you need sleep and you need food,” she said. “If you are here in this already stressful situation trying to advocate for your loved one and make sure that they are being cared for, and you aren’t getting some of those items, then you’re not at your best for that person. And they really need you at your best.”

Not every patient’s family qualifies for a Compassion Card, said Erin Gray, director of volunteer services. Family members apply for a card and are assessed for need. If financial need is established, then a Compassion Card loaded with $25 is given, she said. Family members can also pick up food items and toiletries from the food pantry and closet that the auxiliary maintains.

Additional money can be added to a family’s card, which is only good for food on the UAMS campus, by others, including friends, church members and co-workers.

“It gives them a way to help themselves,” said Gray. “We give them some support, but also a way to try and provide for themselves while they’re here.”

In addition to the Compassion Cards, Volunteer Services and the auxiliary have collaborated with the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance to address hunger issues that patients may have once they leave UAMS.

“A lot of our patients get discharged to homes where they have hunger deficits at home,” said Gray. “So they’ve got medication, they’ve got chronic illness and now they’ve got a new diagnosis.”

“We have patients trying to choose between medication and food,” said McNally.

To help, the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance has created a document that lists all of the known food pantries in the state and contacts at each location.

“As we discharge those patients that we know have hunger disparities, we can set them up with a food pantry and with a contact person,” Gray said. “That will help them with their prognosis once they leave here, so they can buy their medication and can eat to support that medicine.”