April 3, 2023 – Hospitals and healthcare systems affiliated with Community Health Systems spent the month of March putting their care for the community into action. This year, CHS-affiliated hospitals celebrated National Doctors’ Day with charitable donations to non-profit organizations on behalf of physicians on their medical staff. The organization also launched its first Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive, an initiative to address food insecurity, a social determinant of health, in communities where its affiliates operate.
Local charities have a significant impact on the lives of area residents and provide much needed support for vulnerable populations. To honor physicians on National Doctors’ Day on March 30, 2023, CHS-affiliated hospitals donated $216,100 to a wide range of charitable organizations, many of whom work to address social determinants of health across their communities.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 34 million people in the United States, including nine million children, are food insecure. Access to nutritious food can have a significant impact on an individual’s overall health and wellbeing. Through the Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive that took place this month, employees across the organization collected more than 64,000 jars of peanut butter, and other nut butters – enough to make more than one million peanut butter sandwiches. Peanut butter is high in nutritional value, has a long shelf life, and enjoys widespread popularity, making it a much-needed item for food banks. All of the collected peanut butter will be donated to local food banks in the communities where it was donated.