Annual Lights for Life Fundraiser at Saint Joseph Berea - Archived

For More Information:
Katie Heckman, Manager, Community Relations
859.986.6535
http://[email protected]

Annual Lights for Life Fundraiser at Saint Joseph Berea to Provide
Assistance to Families in Need
Community invited to participate in event on Dec. 16, 2016

Berea, Ky. (December 6, 2016) –The Saint Joseph Berea Foundation, part of KentuckyOne Health, is planning its annual holiday fundraiser, Lights for Life, to help families in need. Now in its 30th year, Lights for Life provides a tribute to loved ones, and also raises funds to provide emergency assistance and medications year-round for underinsured and low-income patients in the Saint Joseph Berea service area.
 
With a $10 donation, a light can be purchased on the Lights for Life Christmas tree, in honor or in memory of a friend or loved one. The names of those individuals will be read and honored during a special Christmas tree lighting on the front lawn of Saint Joseph Berea on Friday, December 16, 2016 at 6 p.m. Refreshments and entertainment will be provided for community members in attendance.
 
Donations received through the program help provide financial assistance to patients and families that cannot afford medical care. While emergency departments treat every patient regardless of their ability to pay, sometimes patients need prescriptions and other follow-up care that they cannot afford. Without the medication and medical supplies they need, many patients end up back in the emergency room.
 
Patients who have benefited from the Lights for Life program include a 26-year-old man who arrived to the emergency room with diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious complication of insulin dependent diabetes that can be fatal if left untreated. Diabetic ketoacidosis can develop within 24 hours without insulin. The patient had been without insulin for two days and couldn’t afford to purchase it, due to taking a new job and having insurance that had not yet taken effect. Funding from Lights for Life helped to pay for him to get insulin, to keep him healthy and prevent him from being readmitted to the hospital.

“Lights for Life is a wonderful holiday tradition that people in the community look forward to every year, and a program that truly has a positive impact on community members” said Leslie Buddeke Smart, vice president of development, KentuckyOne Health. “KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to providing wellness, healing and hope to all, and this event truly gives back to those in need of medical help, while also paying tribute to special friends and family members at Christmas.”
 
There are three convenient ways to donate to Lights for Life. Community members can donate online at kentuckyonehealth.org/lightsforlife, call 859.313.2014, or send a donation to the Saint Joseph Berea Foundation, Attn: Stephen Clatos, 701 Bob O’ Link Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40504.
 
For additional information on this event, contact Tawanda Owsley at 859.313.2055, or at [email protected].
 
 
About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health, the largest and most comprehensive health system in the Commonwealth, has more than 200 locations including, hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies in Kentucky and southern Indiana. KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved.  The system is made up of the former Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System, along with the University of Louisville Hospital and James Graham Brown Cancer Center. KentuckyOne Health is proud of and strengthened by its Catholic, Jewish and academic heritages.