Help SHM give back to the community
Create a card, spread joy, and make someone smile!
Part of being a hospitalist is caring for people. Whether it’s patients in the hospital setting or parents, children, friends, partners, or siblings at home, hospitalists spend their lives helping others.
Brittany Evans, SHM associate director of meetings, said the caregiving experience can often be heart-wrenching and challenging, so this year, SHM Converge organizers want to give hospitalists a way to reach out to patients in a positive and motivating way.
On Wednesday and Thursday morning, SHM Converge attendees can visit the Activity Area of the Shoreline Exhibit Hall and help design greeting cards for children hospitalized at the local Las Vegas pediatric care center at University Medical Center (UMC). Card messages will contain uplifting and inspirational comments, such as “Stay strong,” “You are awesome,” “Be brave,” and “You are a rock star.”
“This event will provide the opportunity for attendees to take a break from the back-to-back lectures and allow them some downtime to let their creative juices flow and support Las Vegas’s youngest patients by sharing words of encouragement,” Evans said.
That particular group was chosen, Evans explained, because SHM wants to give something back to the Las Vegas community that is hosting this year’s Converge conference.
“We wanted to provide donations to an organization or institution that was local to the conference area,” she said. “UMC offers the highest level of pediatric care to the children of Las Vegas. We felt our audience of hospitalists would enjoy the chance to give back to young patients in an imaginative and unique way.”
More greeting card inspiration as well as materials and supplies will be made available at the activity area. And if you miss this year’s event, don’t worry, Evans said SHM plans to make this a regular part of the Converge experience.
“Not only do we hope to continue and expand give-back opportunities at Converge in the future, but we also plan to incorporate these events into other meetings like the Leadership Academy and Pediatric Hospital Medicine,” she said.
Visit SHM Meeting News Central for more coverage.
