Your Stories: Trinity Health Of New England Represents at American Lung Association Lung Force Walk
June 18, 2024Categories: Events
This marked the 9th year the American Lung Association (ALA) held the Lung Force Walk to raise funds to fight lung cancer and lung diseases. According to the ALA, the Lung Force Walk provides critical funds for lifesaving research, early detection initiatives, and awareness outreach to vulnerable communities, striving toward a world without lung cancer and lung disease.
Members of Mercy's Lung Cancer Screening Program at the 2024 American Lung Association Lung Force Walk.
This year, the event was held in the beautiful Great River Park in East Hartford on June 1. The day started with a distribution of t-shirts, bags, snacks, and drinks, followed by a touching opening ceremony. The walk, which took place along a 2-mile stretch of the Connecticut River, saw record breaking attendance and fundraising, coming just shy of the $55,000 goal, according to Daniel Bowler, Executive Director of the local ALA region. Fundraising will continue until July 1.
Teams and participants received donations from family and friends, many having both personal and professional reasons for walking. Trinity Health Of New England had a booth where colleagues handed out giveaways and had fun photo opportunities.
Trinity Health Of New England, a presenting sponsor of the event, was well represented with colleagues, along with their families and pets, from the Thoracic Oncology programs at Saint
Francis Hospital, Mercy Medical Center, and Saint Mary’s Hospital. Team members represented medical, radiation, and surgical oncology, as well as the lung cancer screening programs. Saint Francis also had members from their perioperative team representing both the hospital and the Association for Registered Nurses (AORN) Connecticut Chapter 0701 as the AORNCT Periop Promenade. Collectively, the teams raised over $1,500.
The ALA was instrumental in advocacy for the Connecticut Surgical Smoke Evacuation Law that passed earlier this year. Trinity Health Of New England exemplifies this commitment to safety by implementing smoke evacuation measures in all surgical and procedural areas, prioritizing the well-being of both patients and colleagues.
Submitted by Ashley LeBlanc, BSN, RN, Regional Service Line Nurse Leader, and Brian Burrier, MSN, RN, CNOR, Perioperative Nursing Professional Development Specialist, Saint Francis Hospital.
Have a story you want to share? Submit your story at TrinityHealthOfNE.org/YourStories