First responder parade lifts spirits at Abbeville Area Medical Center
Lifting the spirits of healthcare personnel in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, a parade of first responders made its way in front of and through the parking lot of Abbeville Area Medical Center last Thursday.
Ambulances, fire trucks, and Abbeville Police Department vehicles made their way in front of the hospital and then through the AAMC parking lot as hospital personnel waved to them.
AAMC Marketing, Foundation and Volunteer Services Director Meg Davis noted following the parade that the event took place during National Healthcare Week, something for which AAMC had postponed a celebration in the wake of furloughs of a number of hospital personnel.
Davis was looking for some things to help lift everyone's spirits at the hospital.
"I just reached out," she recalled, noting that she joined forces with Brandon Johnson of Abbeville County EMS to organize the parade.
The procession, which took place shortly before midday Thursday, featured police, fire, EMS, and other organizations, she said.
The parade made its way past the hospital, past physicians' practices, and, later in the day, past Due West Medicine in Due West.
At least part of the parade passed in front of Health Related Home Care on West Pickens Street, where some home health personnel were on hand to say a heartfelt "thank you."
Davis said that it really lifted spirits at AAMC, the spirits of those battling in the trenches of healthcare.
"It's been kind of gloomy the past few months with the pandemic," she said.
Could we say the parade was just what the doctor ordered?
No pun intended, of course.