A Record Number Show Up To Race To Help Others
Mahaska Health Partnership ‘Run in the Sun’ offers an opportunity for many people to participate.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – A record number of participants lined up on Saturday morning to help support the Hospice Serenity House on the Mahaska Health Partnership campus.
The 7th Annual Run in the Sun is the largest fundraising event for the facility that serves the community and their families. Many of those families who were served by Hospice Serenity House were on hand to show their support and to participate.
Over 300 people lined up to participate, many wearing the latest event t-shirt and holding a biodegradable balloon with a name of someone important to them.
Shortly after the balloon release, the 5k participants lined up for their race. The 1-mile walk then lined up to take part. The race participants came from several area communities including Pella, Lynnville, Ottumwa, Urbandale, and Albia, just to name a few.
The reason for all the effort of so many was put into words by Cathy Stahl, Mahaska Health Partnership Marketing and Development Director. “The grief that you feel at losing your loved one is still raw. Please know that this event is for you and the funds raised will benefit hospice families like yourselves.”
Jay Christensen, Chief Executive Officer of Mahaska Health Partnership, spoke with Oskaloosa News about the annual fundraiser.
Christensen talked about the support events like Run in the Sun has for MHP Hospice Serenity House. “It’s one of those things that requires gifts of events like this in order for it to be sustainable over the long term. It’s a wonderful service; it’s something people need, it’s just not always recognized as such by those who have insurance coverage.”
MHP Hospice Serenity House is designed for those who don’t want to pass away at home or need additional pain control during those final days. “It’s an opportunity to be near home but not at home,” said Christensen.
Christensen shared a personal story about his father and how he could have benefited from a service like the Serenity House. “He was a 22-year leukemia survivor. He was bound and determined he was never going to use these types of services, and it would have been so nice near the end of his life to have it available. To know you’ve got caregivers nearby that are trained specifically to take care of patients that have those kinds of terminal illnesses, I t’s just really a benefit to families at that point.”
Helping to find a way to help fund the facility for those who may not have insurance coverage is at the heart of Run in the Sun. Christensen said the community “has clearly taken this event under its wing, and said this is something we want to continue.”
MHP Hospice Serenity House does get a large portion of its funding from insurance payments, but there are many families that use the facility under self-pay when maybe something is not covered. “We still think it’s important,” said Christensen of making the service available. “Events like this make it so we can do that.”
“I think it’s one of those things that you’d say, insurance covers it, but it doesn’t cover everything we do. So this really allows us to make it extra nice,” added Christensen.
Christensen gave credit to the MHP Marketing Department and the committee who works on the event. “They change up just enough things to keep it interesting.”
“A tremendous thank you to the community for their participation,” added Christensen. “I look at the number of teams our employees put together. Boy, what another great example of MHP making health care personal.”
