First Choice Emergency Room, an Adeptus Health company, is partnering with Operation Gratitude and will host a collection drive between March 28 and April 9 to support active duty military and veteran communities.
All 64 First Choice Emergency Room facilities across Texas, including the newly opened First Texas Hospital in Carrollton, will serve as drop sites and will be collecting a variety of necessities, as well as personal letters of support. The items collected will be used to fill care packages and sent to individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines deployed overseas; their children; and veterans, new recruits, first responders, wounded warriors and their caregivers.
“We are honored by First Choice Emergency Room’s support of Operation Gratitude’s patriotic cause through this tremendous collection drive effort,” said Carolyn Blashek, founder of Operation Gratitude. “We plan to assemble and ship more than 200,000 care packages to the military and first responder communities this year alone. The contributions received at the drop sites will help fill those packages with important items and meaningful letters. First Choice Emergency Room’s dedication and commitment to all who serve is making a real difference to this organization and to our heroes in uniform.”
Operation Gratitude’s mission is to lift the spirits and meet the evolving needs of active duty and first responder communities, and provide volunteer opportunities for all Americans to express their appreciation to all who serve our nation. Operation Gratitude sends 200,000+ care packages annually.
“We are proud to partner with Operation Gratitude for a second year in a row and help support our troops overseas and the veterans who have served our country,” said Thomas S. Hall, Chairman and CEO, Adeptus Health. “In 2015, with the help of the community we collected an overwhelming amount of care package items and with 64 conveniently located facilities across Texas, we hope to do the same in 2016.”
Items needed most include Beanie Babies/Ty/Webkinz plush toys; warmers (instant hand and foot); batteries (AA & AAA, 4 pack); earbuds; earplugs; socks; hats; scarves; gum; mints; iPods; video games; DVDs; playing cards; and sodoku puzzles. Other items accepted include personal care products including chapstick; disposable razor packs; toothbrushes and toothpaste; dental floss; moist towelettes; cotton swabs; facial tissue; sunscreen stick (no liquid); OFF! towelettes and foot powder.
First Choice Emergency Room facilities will be marked as Operation Gratitude drop sites with large military eagle inflatables, banners and wind flags. The facilities are open 24/7, making it convenient for community members to drop off donations items. The Garland location is at 7050 North Shiloh Road.
About First Choice Emergency Room
First Choice Emergency Room (FCER.com) is the nation’s leading network of independent freestanding emergency rooms; it is both the largest and the oldest. First Choice Emergency Room is revolutionizing the delivery of emergency medical services for adult and pediatric emergencies by offering patients convenient, neighborhood access to emergency medical care. The facilities are innovative, freestanding, and fully equipped emergency rooms with a radiology suite of diagnostic technology (CT scanner, Ultrasound and Digital X-ray) and on-site laboratory. All are staffed with board-certified physicians and emergency trained registered nurses. According to patient feedback, First Choice Emergency Room provides the highest quality emergency medical care and received the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for exceeding the 95th percentile in patient satisfaction nationwide.