The OSF HealthCare Foundation established the Above & Beyond program, funded by Mission Partners for Mission Partners in need, many years ago. But under the current pandemic situation, that fund took on an increased focus and opportunity to make a difference in the lives of OSF Mission Partners. The program provides financial help for food and clothing, emergency housing, transportation for employment purposes, expenses related to medical care, and household utilities. Mission Partners in need of help apply for assistance through Human Resources.
Among the first Mission Partners to donate were Dr. Ayman Gheith and Dr. Akram Shhadeh, vascular & interventional neurology, neuro-critical care physicians. The pair generously donated $25,000.
“If we don’t help during tough times, we all fail,” said Dr. Shhadeh. “Our motivation is faith based. If I see people in distress, I can’t just stand by and not help them. That’s why we decided to make this donation. To help others who may be suffering. To provide excellent care for the community, we need healthy and well taken care of Mission Partners. We wanted to help the healers.”
“Our Mission is to provide the best care possible for our patients,” added Dr. Gheith. “If any of our team members is going through difficulty, it may become more difficult for them to focus on this singular goal, so we have to do our part to help our OSF family members. We treat our patients like family, we treat our colleagues like family and we treat the OSF HealthCare Ministry like home in order to provide the best possible care for our patients.”
“We are grateful that these two physicians stepped up as the COVID-19 pandemic developed,” said Ryan Duvall, director of development, OSF HealthCare Foundation at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center. “They asked how best to help fellow Mission Partners. After talking through some options, they felt the Above & Beyond program was a perfect fit for what they were looking to do. We are lucky to have them and are appreciative of their generosity.”