An Abundance of Generosity Received at Cascade Medical

“I found myself with all this extra time, at home, not working, with my kids and wanted to do something to help,” said Carrie Nunnally, whose faith inspired her to give back during this pandemic crisis. “I want my kids to see these times as opportunities to serve and be a blessing to others and not so focused on their inconveniences.”

Nunnally chose to coordinate the creation of blessing bags for the nursing staff at Cascade Medical, which includes 51 nurses, nursing assistants, nursing leadership and social services. She reached out to the Life Groups at her church, the Church of the Nazarene, with a wish list of items. “There are six life groups who all got on board, and we were able to cover all the items listed plus some I hadn't thought of.”

Although CM is not in the middle of a pandemic storm like some urban hospitals, the staff have been preparing for a surge that still might happen. They work with a risk of exposure. Data on the COVID-19 infection rate of healthcare workers is unknown at this point, and while hospital staff follow the stringent protocols to keep exposure to a minimum, the risk is still there.

“We will treat COVID-19 patients here unless they are sick enough to need to be in an ICU and on a ventilator,” said Cascade Medical CEO Diane Blake. “Those patients will be transferred to Confluence. Since the outbreak began, we have treated inpatients who had COVID-like illnesses.”

The nurses and nursing assistants will receive the blessing bags just before Easter, and they’ll be chock full of granola bars, lotion, lip balm, Easter candy, mints, tea, coffee gift cards and more. “One life group reached out to some local artist friends who handmade beautiful cards with notes of encouragement,” Nunnally said.

Such expressions of gratitude serve as fuel for Cascade Medical staff to keep working hard.

“I was grateful and humbled with the community outpouring of support,” said Emergency Department Nurse Sarah Baker. “In this time of waiting and uncertainty, I feel very apprehensive but was so heartened with feeling the community supporting our efforts to prepare.”

Another example of generosity came from Wildflour Restaurant, located at Lake Wenatchee. The restaurant delivered rigatoni bolognese for ED nightshift staff and macaroni with roasted vegetables and cheese Sauce for ED dayshift staff. “We didn’t want to waste product [after closing], so we created meal kits for families of first responders and other folks in the community,” said Wildflour chef and co-owner, Ben Herreid. “Someone suggested we do them for the Cascade Medical staff, and we thought that was a great opportunity for us to support you folks who are on the front lines of this crisis.”

Wildflour has been feeding many who are hit hard by the pandemic. “We thought this endeavor would last a week or two, but many people stepped up to support it by contributing funds and food. So far, we’ve been able to feed around 600 people a week, including the staff of our local nursing home at Mountain Meadows,” Herreid said.

Shawna Villalvazo, owner of The Bubblery, has partnered with Cascade Medical Foundation (CMF) several times in the past for the good of Cascade Medical and its patients. Now she has donated handcrafted soaps to be distributed to staff in Cascade Medical’s housekeeping and nursing departments.

“I wanted to do something for the Cascade Medical staff because they are there to help us every day, and in a time of uncertainty when stress is high,” said Villalvazo. “A little soap with some moisturizing benefits could help their hands heal and maybe make their day a little brighter.”

Like other small businesses, this is not an easy time for Villalvazo. “We are doing okay trying to adjust to online only. We have started offering kits with free shipping designed for hands and other essential items you may need now.”

As for the blessing bags, Nunnally said, “It really has been a group effort and truly from the abundance of God, using a spark of an idea and multiplying it—fishes and loaves!”

Similarly, all the community donations have deeply moved everyone at CM and CMF with their abundance.

Cascade Medical and CMF want to thank all these donors of supplies and wellness items: Anonymous, Dave Ashton, Mary Lou Bailey, Bavarian Chiropractic, Berkshire Hathaway/Leavenworth Properties, Blackbird Lodge, Blue Spirits Distilling Co., Christy Bone, Cordi Bradburn, Joann Brown, Steven Cardenas, Cascade School District, Church of the Nazarene, Christine Emmel, Ursula Folker, Karl Halupka, Julie Istvan, J5 and J5 Patrons, Greg Kramer, Emily Loukusa, Love Leavenworth, Teresa Luttrell, Marson & Marson, Jennifer Melsness, Caitlin Meng, David Morgan, Munchen Haus, Dorothy Nilles, Carrie Nunnally, O’Brien Dentistry, Debra Peterson, Kurt and Celeste Peterson, Mary Rubert, Jaime Songer, Kathy Stevens, Larry Stolz, The Bubblery, The Post Hotel, Strode and Judy Weaver, Kiersten Week, Wenatchee River Institute, Sabrina Westbrook, Wildflour, Ernie Ziegler.