Emily Miracle, Marketing Director for Grady Memorial Hospital, spoke to Rotary about the latest happenings at GMH, and its emphasis on community.The September 8, 2022, meeting of the Chickasha Rotary Club was called to order by President Lewis Knisley. Rot. Mitch Williams led the club in singing "You've Got a Friend".
Before the program, President-elect Jim Cowan stressed the importance of making the public aware of any and all community involvement, by Rotary and by other entities. He mentioned the Community Alliance, a group of local leaders and charities that meets monthly to share information and better coordinate meeting community needs. He introduced his guest Heidi Harrison, founder of Heidi Helping the Homeless and a member of the Alliance. Harrison shared the story of how she first became involved in serving the homeless, and how it expanded to where the organization is today.
Rotarian of the Day Bob Buchanan introduced the speaker, Emily Miracle, Marketing Director at Grady Memorial Hospital. Miracle began by announcing upcoming events at GMH. First, with September being Breast Cancer Awareness month, the hospital will have expanded hours for screening in order to serve more people in the community. On Saturday the 10th, they will be open 8 am to noon, and on Tuesday the 27th, they will remain open until 6pm. Additionally, the critical need for more blood donations persists. GMH will have a blood drive on Wednesday, the 14th. Lastly, flu vaccines will become available soon.
Miracle said that it is GMH's mission to find ways to help build up Chickasha. The hospital is in the process of upgrading their MRI facilities, though it could be up to 10 months before it is completed. The new facility will have a bigger opening, better imaging capabilities, and will speed up the process as a whole. This will enable the hospital to diagnose more issues and serve more people.
Miracle spoke briefly about her first experience with Grady Memorial Hospital and the Chickasha community. She stressed that there are many things Chickasha is able to offer despite being rural. Above all, the people are what makes Chickasha special.
Recently, at the Grady County Fair, GMH had taken brief surveys from fairgoers in order to better understand the needs and concerns of the community, as well as its opinions towards GMH. Miracle extended the question to Rotarians—was there anything members wanted to see Grady do? Any improvements that could be made? Any good experiences? One question that was raised concerned OBGYNs. Miracle said that bringing the department back was an ongoing conversation, even a high priority, but it would be a $6 million undertaking.
Lunch was provided by Rock Island Grill.