Phoebe employees celebrated Martin Luther King Day by participating in community service projects. “This holiday is celebrated as a National Day of Service,” said Joel Wernick, Phoebe President & CEO. “Community service is our founding mission at Phoebe, and it’s a perfect fit for us to be involved in service projects on this day.”

Wernick, and about 20 other Phoebe leaders, joined the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) ramp builders Monday morning to construct ramps at the homes of two Albany residents with disabilities. RSVP is supported by Phoebe and the SOWEGA Council on Aging and includes 16 men, mostly military veterans, who build ramps for dozens of people in need every year.

Linda McFarland received one of the ramps built on MLK Day. She is a stroke survivor who needs the assistance of a walker and found it extremely difficult and dangerous to climb the steps to her front door. Now she has a new 48-foot ramp which makes those trips in and out of her home much safer. “I thank you all,” McFarland told the volunteers. “I just can’t thank you enough. I thank God that he put it on your heart to come out and help me.”

Phoebe also provided free flu shots and blood pressure checks at the Albany Rescue Mission and the Albany Salvation Army and served meals at the Salvation Army. Monday afternoon, Phoebe nurses also set up tables near the food court in the Albany Mall and offered free flu shots to the public.

Phoebe employees also donated $5 each for the privilege of wearing jeans to work on Monday. The money collected was used to make a $2,500 donation to the Albany Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) to underwrite their 2018 Monthly Community Nights. Educators from Phoebe’s Diabetes Resource Center will present the first Community Night program of the year on Jan. 25.

Wernick presented ACRI Executive Director Frank Wilson with the check during an MLK Day ceremony at Phoebe’s main campus Monday afternoon. Wilson encouraged people to work together to improve the community. “As we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, we also celebrate a day of service. Service has been defined in many ways. One person said, ‘service is the rent we pay for living,’” Wilson said.

Phoebe plans to make the MLK Day Ceremony and Day of Service projects an annual event at the hospital.