Spectrum Health is one of the Grower Sponsors ($2,500) for the Walk for Good Food 2020 and a long time valued partner of Access of West Michigan. In addition to their sponsorship, this year they have committed to an additional employee match up to $2,500. They are encouraging their employees to get out and Walk for Good Food! For every Spectrum Health employee who registers and tracks their support, Spectrum Health will donate an additional $1 per employee up to $2,500.
We asked Spectrum Health to share with us about their mission, services offered to the community, how COVID-19 has impacted them, and why they choose to support Access and the Walk for Good Food. We are so thankful for all they do for our community! Read more about their work below:
We see our role in the community to be an active partner. At Spectrum Health, we strive to deliver personalized health made simple, affordable and exceptional. It’s a high bar. Yet with every day and every patient we meet, we are proving that extraordinary care is a goal worth achieving. Our mission is to Improve health, inspire hope and save lives.
Our talented physicians and caregivers are privileged to offer a full continuum of care and wellness services to our communities. I encourage your readership to visit our website, spectrumhealth.org to learn more about the breadth and depth of the services we offer.
COVID-19 has profoundly impacted our organization. I am proud to work with dedicated staff who have given countless hours helping save lives in our community through care, innovated ideas and an all-hands-on-deck approach. We are ALL in this together. COVID-19 is impacting all the communities we serve, and it is important that our messaging touch as many people as possible throughout our communities. Spectrum Health has resources including multilingual materials, free symptom checker and a screening chat tool on our website. The site also includes video messages and conversations with local community leaders. This information also can be found at https://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19/community-resources.
While COVID-19 has become the focal point of everyone’s life in recent weeks, there are many patients suffering from other health conditions that require immediate attention. Spectrum Health continues to provide care for a multitude of health concerns and wants the community to know our hospitals safely and effectively serve all patients every day.
In times like this, we are reminded how difficult access to food and basic necessities can be. COVID-19 has accentuated inequities for our most vulnerable through loss of income, access to meals, and meeting basic needs. We are proud to sponsor the Walk for Good Food as it aligns with our mission of health and wellness through movement and connectedness while addressing difficult community problems like food access and poverty.
Spectrum Health has a long standing partnership with Access of West Michigan. Though Spectrum Health Healthier Communities we have actively engaged with Access of West Michigan and many of the funding recipients to help support efforts that reduce infant mortality, advance family economic security by improving health outcomes and improve community wellness by reducing chronic disease. We also partner with you on efforts to help educate our team through the Access Poverty Education program on intricate realities of life in poverty.
We pursue health care solutions for today and tomorrow that diversify our offerings. Locally-governed and based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, our health system provided $585 million in the forms of scholarships, grants, sponsorships and more for communities across the state.