Each year in celebration of National Doctors Day, Phoebe makes a donation to a local charity in honor of all physicians serving southwest Georgia.  The medical executive committee (MEC) at Phoebe chooses the recipient.  This year, the MEC decided to give to the Phoebe Foundation’s paver program which supports Phoebe’s chaplaincy service.

“This year, more than ever, we need to express our appreciation for the physicians in our community who have done so much to meet our region’s COVID-19 healthcare needs, while continuing to provide all the other care patients need,” said Suresh Lakhanpal, MD, Phoebe Physicians Chief Executive Officer.  “Phoebe’s chaplaincy director, Rev. Will Runyon, has provided invaluable service to patients, their families and healthcare workers throughout our COVID-19 battle, and our physician community is proud to support him and the chaplaincy program with this donation.”

Dr. Lakhanpal and Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kathy Hudson presented chaplaincy and Phoebe Foundation representatives with a $5,000 check Thursday afternoon.  The donation will be used to purchase memorial pavers in honor of every Phoebe patient who has died from COVID-19.

“After such a challenging year for our community, we wanted our donation to recognize what we have been through together.  We’re grateful for the opportunity to provide lasting memorials to all those we have lost to COVID-19,” Dr. Hudson said.

The memorial pavers will be placed in the paver pathway in front of Phoebe’s main hospital.

The first Doctors Day was observed on March 30, 1933 in Winder, GA.  The wife of a local physician organized an effort to mail greeting cards to local physicians and place flowers on the graves of deceased doctors.  President George H.W. Bush proclaimed the first National Doctors Day in 1991.