The Mid-America Transplant Foundation is excited to support the formation of the NEA Baptist Center for Good Grief in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The Center was formally announced Wednesday at NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital.
The Mid-America Transplant Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to support a grief center, which will provide services to families in northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri. Until Wednesday, the area was served by the Kemmons Wilson Family Center for Good Grief in Memphis, Tennessee. The Center identified a need in the region because many potential clients were not able travel to Memphis for services.
From left, Brad Parsons, CEO of NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital; Kim Moseley of Mid-America Transplant; Mandy Young, Executive Director of the NEA Baptist Center for Good Grief; Angela Hamblen Kelly, executive director of the Kemmons Wilson Family Center for Good Grief; and Kevin Lee, Executive Director of the Mid-America Transplant Foundation.
“This is an important addition to the greater Jonesboro area that provides grief services to those coping with the death of a loved one,” said Kevin Lee, Executive Director of the Mid-America Transplant Foundation. “We know the value in these services, and we’re pleased to help the generous people of this community. This is an opportunity to give back to the region, where countless people have said ‘yes’ to organ, eye and tissue donation to give a second chance to others. We hope the services of the NEA Baptist Center for Good Grief will support this community for many years to come.”
The Grief Center plans to provide individual and group grief sessions, workshops and camps for children, teens and adults. The Jonesboro center will be part of NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, and it will closely replicate the Kemmons Wilson Family Center for Good Grief. The Jonesboro center expects initially to help more than 50 clients annually and host more than 20 educational outreach activities for the community.
“When we started the process four years ago, one of our physicians, Dr. Michael Isaacson, came to us and said we have a need in our health system to help people dealing with grief,” said Robbie Johnson, Executive Director of the NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation. “We saw a need, but we didn’t have the funds. In this past year, serendipitously things happened, and suddenly we were on track. Thankfully, through the gifts of financial donors and grants like the one from Mid-America Transplant, we’re able to bring this resource to Jonesboro. We are thrilled to be able to offer this to the community.”
The NEA Baptist Center for Good Grief is scheduled to open in October.
About the Mid-America Transplant Foundation
The Mid-America Transplant Foundation provides enhanced support to transplant patients and their families, donor families and the community. It seeks to reduce the need for organ and tissue transplantation; increase the availability of organs and tissues for those who need them; and to improve the lives of recipients and donor families. The Foundation provides programing, develops partnerships, administers research grants, and provides community health grants to organizations that support its mission of improving health through disease prevention, education and successful transplantation.