The annual Lights of Love fundraising campaign for the Block Island Medical Center is underway, and one of its organizers is hoping that people remember the center for the work it has done during this year of unprecedented challenges.
According to organizer Kay Lewis, who worked on the 2020 campaign with Board Chair Cindy Baute, the fundraiser will be without some of its usual trimmings, such as the tree decorated with donor names in the lobby of the Medical Center building, but the mission is the same.
With letters having gone out around Thanksgiving, and with some immediate responses, Lewis said that “I think people started to reply because they understand how the Medical Center has stepped up this year.”
The challenges have been myriad. A change in primary care staff in the early part of the year with the departure of Dr. Mark Clark, and the arrival of Dr. Tom Warcup and Nurse Practitioner Laurie Anderson, as well as a chaotic and anxious summer due to the ongoing pandemic, were at the heart of the challenges.
“This has been a very difficult year for everybody, and particularly for any organization in health care,” said Lewis.
The campaign
