Dignity Health | hello Healthy| Winter 2018

6 DignityHealth.org/central-california | Winter 2018 Some of the littlest patients at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital were the recipients of a heartwarming gesture from members of the Bakersfield business community. Volunteers from Chevron recently handmade 40 fleece tie-blankets for patients at the Lauren Small Children’s Center, the Grossman Burn Center, and the new pediatric emergency room (ER), the Robert A. Grimm Children’s Pavilion for Emergency Services. Chevron Operations Technologist Shelley Rosas says employees were excited about the community project and happy to volunteer. Some even took the supplies home to work on the blankets in their free time. “Most people are parents and grandparents, so it wasn’t hard to get them involved,” she says. “We all found it really rewarding.” Full of bright colors and a variety of whimsical designs, the blankets were each handmade with love for patients and their families. Chevron volunteers delivered the blankets to the hospital, meeting with the children who would be blessed by their handiwork. A hospital visit can be scary for a child, so volunteers hope their cozy creations will help provide peace. The volunteers were also surprised with a gift of their own. While they were visiting with doctors, patients and patients’ families, Chevron employees were given handmade thank-you notes from the children, a gesture that truly warmed their hearts. “We weren’t expecting anything,” says David Leach, Chevron Health, Environment and Safety Supervisor. “We just wanted to give back to the community. When the kids gave us those cards, we were really touched. We weren’t expecting that.” Those thank-you notes are now proudly on display in the Chevron offices as a reminder of the healing power of humankindness and the ties that bind this community together. “The whole experience was really nice and really brings everything into perspective,” says Rosas. The Lauren Small Children’s Center provides care to countless pediatric patients, changing the face of health care for the children of Kern County. “It’s just a blanket, but to kids it really means something. It’s something they can take home when their hospital stay is finished.” —David Leach, Chevron Health, Environment and Safety Supervisor FUELED BY KINDNESS: Volunteers from Chevron found a creative way to show our littlest patients how much this community cares for them. Blanketed with love