Akel Family donates $50,000 for United Health Services (UHS) workers

The Akel Family has donated $50,000 to the UHS Foundation to be used in support of healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis in the Greater Binghamton area. The Akels have made an equivalent donation to the Lourdes Hospital Foundation. The gift to the UHS Foundation has jump-started the Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund, said Cory S. Jacobs, executive director of the UHS Foundation. “This very generous donation will help fund a number of efforts that are under way to benefit the people providing patient care in our community,” she said.

In a statement issued in March, Akel Family members expressed their hope that their contributions in the battle against the coronavirus will encourage others to lend their support as well. The donation to the UHS Foundation will assist UHS staff members impacted by COVID-19, Ms. Jacobs said. Some of the money will be used to fund meal deliveries to UHS staff in coordination with two local volunteer groups, Hospital Heroes from Broome-Tioga BOCES and the Feeding First Responders project of the Water Street Brewing Co.

The UHS Foundation also plans to purchase materials used in the making of face shields and cloth masks, as well as “bounce-back kits.” The kits consist of mints, lip balm, deodorant, earplugs, stress balls and other items staff can relax with on a break or at the end of a shift. “We are ready to meet other needs as they arise,” Ms. Jacobs said. For 76 years the Akel Family owned and operated Binghamton Giant Markets, a local grocery chain established in 1933. Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the COVID-19 Response Fund can do so at nyuhs.org/donate.

United Health Services, Inc. (UHS) is a locally owned, not-for-profit hospital and healthcare system serving Greater Binghamton and surrounding counties. Founded in 1981, UHS provides a full range of medical, surgical, rehabilitative and long-term care services throughout New York’s Southern Tier.

United Health Services, Inc. and the members of the UHS System neither are affiliated with, sponsored, endorsed nor approved by, nor otherwise associated with, Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS), UHS of Delaware, Inc. nor their affiliates, which can be found at www.uhsinc.com.

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