Incredible things are happening in the Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) in October. NGHS is celebrating 20 years of employees giving back to the community through We Are Targeting Community Health (WATCH), the NGHS Foundation’s employee giving club!
“Through WATCH, 100% of senior leadership and more than half of NGHS staff are committed to enhancing the compassionate care that we provide,” says Melissa Tymchuk, chief of staff to the president and CEO for NGHS. “By giving back to NGHS, WATCH employee donors are investing in our core values and ensuring we will be better tomorrow than we are today.”
Over the past 20 years, those employees have donated a collective of over $11 million for the health of the community. This has allowed the NGHS to provide employee scholarships and career training, as well as an emergency assistance program for employees enduring hardships. Additionally, this fund has been used to start population health initiatives throughout Northeast Georgia and for COVID-19 relief.
But WATCH goes further than that. On top of its contribution to the above, it continues to support the following projects:
- WATCH Walkway at Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Braselton, a ¾ mile walking trail enjoyed by members of the community and staff on breaks
- The new NGHS Mobile Simulation Unit, a mobile simulation vehicle used throughout the region to train healthcare professionals using new equipment and procedures
- Change Grants, a program in which employees can propose new projects or processes to enhance the patient experience, improve employee morale or impact patient-family satisfaction. Past Change Grants have funded:
- NGMC Barrow’s employee library
- NGMC Gainesville’s “Donate Life” flags and flagpoles
In just 20 year’s time, WATCH and the employees donating to it have managed to further public health to an amazing degree. There are no doubt that WATCH will continue providing great services for the community in the future.
