Lights for Life
Each holiday
season since 1986, the Saint Joseph - Berea community has joined together to
support the Lights for Life program as a means to assist uninsured and
low-income patients from the Saint Joseph - Berea service area in obtaining
emergency care. The monies provided by this program's Emergency Services Fund
may be used to pay for an service provided by the hospital and are limited to
emergency care. Saint Joseph - Berea coordinates fundraising efforts for this
program and its staff and volunteers work directly with persons in need. Now in
its 23rd year, the program continues to be a blessing for people in
the Saint Joseph - Berea service area.
Part of our mission as a Catholic Health Initiatives hospital is
to develop creative responses to emerging health care challenges. Each year many
low income, uninsured families face the possibility of becoming ill or injured
and requiring treatment, which they may be unable to afford. A contribution to
Lights for Life is a way in which you can help your neighbors through difficulty
and participate in the promotion of a healthy community. Your gift is also
tax-deductible.
The goal of Lights for Life is twofold. Each donation of $10 per
name will purchase a “light” on the Lights for Life Christmas Tree in honor or
in memory of a friend or loved one. At the same time donors will be helping
uninsured patients get the help they need. We encourage you to donate to this
worthy cause. We also invite you to join us in our annual tree lighting ceremony
held the first weekend of December. This ceremony, with its roll call of
honorees, is a very moving and meaningful tribute to the spirit of Christmas.
There is no greater joy than to reach out to help a person in need. Make a
contribution to Lights for Life a holiday tradition for your family.
Testimonies of Patients Benefiting from
Lights For Life
- A sick mother, father and child visit the Emergency Department
where they are all diagnosed with strep throat. The father has just lost his job
and is unprepared for the unforeseen illnesses. Unable to afford the antibiotics
for treatment, this family would have gone home without them without the help of
Lights for Life.
- A young worker with no job and no insurance comes to the
Emergency Room and is diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg. He requires a
very expensive drug - Lovenox - to prevent clotting. Without Lights for Life
he would would not have been able to obtain this medication.
- A 53 year-old uninsured woman with diabetes develops a large
necrotic abscess. Uninsured, and with little income, she requires
hospitalization. Lights for Life paid for the wound care cream and antibiotics
she needed, allowing her to heal and return home.
- A young child is hospitalized with bronchial pneumonia. His
mother is unable to pay for the expensive medications required for his
nebulizer to be used at home. Lights for Life purchased enough medicine to see
the child through the crisis.
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