December 7, 2007

MGH Chelsea sends treats to troops

MGH Chelsea staff prepare care packages to be shipped to Iraq.

The staff members of the MGH Chelsea HealthCare Center know that a small gesture can go a long way in brightening the days of the brave men and women serving in the U.S. military. For more than a year, MGH Chelsea staff have organized a series of very special overseas deliveries, creating packages filled with personal care items, DVDs, candy and other treats for troops serving in Iraq in three branches of the military — the Marines, Army and Navy. The most recent shipment took place a few weeks ago, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The project began in October 2006 when Martha Ithier, registration specialist at MGH Chelsea, received an e-mail from her son, Luis — who was then serving with the Marines on his second deployment to Iraq — requesting that she send basic items such as toothpaste, shampoo and aspirin that he could share with his fellow troops. Immediately, Ithier sprung into action. With the support of her supervisor, Ann Marie Lahaie, Ithier shared the request with her colleagues at MGH Chelsea, and the response was overwhelming — soon, 11 care packages from the center were on their way to Iraq.

The efforts, however, did not end there. When Agnes Sarno, Patient Services coordinator at MGH Chelsea, learned of the project, she also wanted to pitch in for a reason especially close to her heart — her nephew, Matthew Proctor, was serving as an Army sergeant in Iraq. Staff from across the health center contributed items, and before long, the distribution expanded to other troops with ties to the health center. Other MGH Chelsea staff members with relatives serving in Iraq include Jack Hogan, MGH Chelsea facilities manager, whose nephew is Army Sgt. Gregory Meninger; Mary Merret, RN, nurse manager for Urgent Care, whose nephew Christopher Rogers and his wife Annaliza are both first lieutenants in the Army; and Sharon Cecca, medical abstractor, whose brother is Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Frederick Smith.

Smith, who currently is back in the United States after a yearlong deployment, recently had the opportunity to meet the MGH Chelsea staff and thank them in person for their generosity. "The gesture of the staff at MGH Chelsea sending the care packages was unbelievable," he says. "It was a real morale booster to receive the goodies and cards with people wishing us well. There were many others who did not get any packages or correspondence at all, so it was a good feeling for these people to get something sent to them too."

For more information about the care packages, contact Ithier at mithier@partners.org or (617) 887-3595.