Summit Plastics and its employees give to Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
Published on Friday, August 12, 2022
By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu
Summit Plastics employees raised $25,000 to help fund the upcoming renovations at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Mississippi, and the company matched it, bringing the total to $50,000.
The new clinic space will include 14 examination rooms, an increase from eight. The center’s infusion room, currently an open space for eight, will be enlarged to house 20 semi-private infusion bays. Each bay will have an infusion chair, guest chair, and electronics to give patients and their families more space, privacy and entertainment.
The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders was opened in 1991 after the Junior League of Jackson raised $2 million to build the facility on the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus. The center became the footprint of the Batson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi, which was opened in 1997.
The décor of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders will match that of the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower, opened Nov. 2, 2020.
The time has come for renovations that will improve the experiences of patients and families, said Dr. Anderson Collier, D. Jeanette Pullen Chair of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. “Our patients and families deserve a state-of-the-art facility to match the state-of-the-art treatment and care already being provided.”
Summit Plastics has a matching program that allows employees to have a recurring donation taken out each paycheck. “The company will match the donation 100 percent,” said Summit Plastics President Jack Shields. “When a new employee starts with the company, we inform them about our partnership with the Children’s Hospital and our match program."
Ty Pulliam, chief financial officer of the Summit-based company, said the partnership between Summit Plastics and Children’s of Mississippi is ongoing. “Since this is an ongoing occurrence, we hope to make many more donations in the future,” he said.
Shields said Summit Plastics employees understand the impact the state’s only children’s hospital has on the community. “We’ve had many of our employees’ families receive excellent care from the incredible doctors and nurses at the children’s hospital. That is why they have chosen to give and why the Company matches 100 percent of employee donations.”
To support the renovation, visit the Center’s webpage for giving. Designate your contribution to the Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Facility and Patient Care Fund. For questions or to learn about naming opportunities, contact Suzanne Crell, major gifts officer, at (601) 815-8778 or screll@umc.edu.