Brookings Health System Donates $5,000 to Brookings Volunteer Service Bank

  • February 25, 2013

Jenny Hammrich, Swiftel Center director of sales and marketing, Molly Eich, Swiftel Center box office manager, and Barb Anderson, Brookings Health System Foundation development officer, present a $5,000 check to Don Boone, Volunteer Service Bank coordinator.
Jenny Hammrich, Swiftel Center director of sales and marketing, Molly Eich, Swiftel Center box office manager, and Barb Anderson, Brookings Health System Foundation development officer, present a $5,000 check to Don Boone, Volunteer Service Bank coordinator.

As a result of the funds raised in years prior to 2012 by the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaigns, Brookings Health System of Brookings, SD, provided a $5,000 donation to the Brookings Volunteer Service Bank Escort and Transport Program.

Volunteer Service Bank (VSB) matches volunteers with people and projects needing help within Brookings County. One of VSB’s largest projects involves providing drivers to transport patients living in the Brookings area to and from medical appointments.

A significant portion of these medical appointments are for radiation, chemotherapy and other cancer-related specialties available either in Brookings or Sioux Falls.

In 2012, VSB completed nearly 300 medical-only round trips from Brookings, Elkton or White to Sioux Falls, plus over 250 trips within the Brookings region. They expect the number of trips to increase in 2013.

For the past seven years, the Swiftel Center has spearheaded the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign, raising money through the sale of t-shirts. The Swiftel Center works with Brookings Health System to effectively disburse those funds to support cancer patients in the Brookings area.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed Brookview Manor nursing home, and Brookhaven Estates apartments. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock medical-nursing care for patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.