Latest news with #LauraPatrick
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
KDHF donates new vehicle to van ministry
The King's Daughters Health Foundation officially presented the Van Ministry Program with a new 2025 Chrysler Voyager minivan on Tuesday, April 29. 'When we learned that the Van Ministry Program at King's Daughters was in need of a new minivan to transport patients to and from medical appointments, the Foundation was more than ready to help,' said Laura Patrick, Foundation Director. The American Hospital Association reports that as many as 3.6 million people miss out on care due to transportation barriers. Locally, transportation consistently ranks among the top five community concerns as identified in the 2025 Community Health Needs Assessments conducted by UK King's Daughters, according to a news release. For more than 40 years, King's Daughters Health Foundation has raised funds to make healthcare more accessible and to support the programs and initiatives of UK King's Daughters. 'We are so thankful for the Foundation's support of our program and of the patients who rely on the Ministry to get the healthcare services they need,' said Diva Justice, director of Community Health at King's Daughters. 'This is an incredible benefit to the people we transport, their families and the community.' The Van Ministry program provides free, reliable, accessible and safe transportation for patients who need assistance getting to and from medical appointments, treatments, and follow-up care, Justice said. The Van Ministry was originally a program of Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital. When OLBH closed in 2020, it was transferred to King's Daughters, with a grant from Bon Secours Mercy Health. Last year, the program transported 1,537 patients, logging nearly 7,000 trips and more than 120,000 miles, Justice said. 'Our drivers took patients to and from doctor appointments, radiation therapy treatments, surgery, IV therapy, wound care and more,' she said. The Van Ministry program includes five vans, three of which are wheelchair accessible. All have more than 200,000 miles on the odometer and are more than 10 years old, Justice noted. Looking ahead, Justice plans to start gradually replacing vehicles over time to keep them reliable, cut down on repair costs, and avoid big expenses all at once, according to the press release. The King's Daughters Health Foundation is accepting donations to go toward the Van Ministry Program. Email or call (606) 408-9332 for more information.
BBC News
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
New museum hopes to tell heritage of Irish in the British Army
A new museum hoping to tell the 350-year history of Irish soldiers and their families in the British Army has been awarded £13.6 million from the National Lottery Heritage The Museum has unveiled plans to create state-of-the-art centres across two sites in Belfast and Belfast galleries are set to open in the summer of 2027 in the restored listed linen warehouse at 28 Bedford Street in Belfast. A second phase will focus on redeveloping the existing galleries at Enniskillen Castle. Artefacts which are currently housed across six individual collections, including two Victoria Crosses, will now be consolidated as part of the include the Inniskillings Museum, Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum, Royal Ulster Rifles Museum, Royal Irish Regiment Museum, Collections and Archives of the Royal Irish Regiment, and Collections and Archives of the North Irish regiments from what is now the Republic of Ireland will also be included in the the Heritage Fund support, Hugh Crossey, chairman of UNTOLD: The Museum said it would "hopefully inspire people to see things differently and make meaningful connections across generations"."Education will be at the heart of all the exhibitions, offering our visitors the chance to explore the lives of the Irish men and women who rose above divisions of class, politics and religion and overcame extremes of hardship to make an indelible mark on our history," he said. 'Explore what we have in common' Dr Laura Patrick, the regimental heritage officer of the Royal Irish Regiment, said she and her colleagues wanted to "address a difficult conversation" and look at the "human experiences behind the often facelessness of the British Army"."What did the soldiers sign up for, why did they sign up, what did they do, and what did they come home to because that wasn't always the most pleasant experience for a lot of them especially in the south," Dr Patrick said."We want to create a space with people for people – a safe space for them to come and debate and explore this fascinating and difficult story."It's just about using that rather unique heritage to explore what we have in common as opposed to what separates us for a change which is always an issue here in Northern Ireland. "It's about education and it's about preserving that heritage for future generations." The museum's main objective is to encourage conversations and "make a new and significant social contribution by healing divisions within the community and fostering intra- and inter-community bonds"."Though this is an all-island story, historically, not all communities engage with this shared heritage," a museum spokesperson said.
