MJE Employee Caring Campaign: Two Employees Share Impact Stories

Methodist Jennie Edmundson employees — like Mary Krueger and Jean Armstrong —  know the powerful impact made by dollars donated to the Employee Caring Campaign. 

Mary Krueger, Employee Caring Campaign Donor

After 38 years in various nursing and coordinator roles, Mary Krueger wrapped up her Methodist Jennie Edmundson career on November 2 with a large goodbye party and many great memories.

“I’ll definitely miss my co-workers and patients and their families,” said Krueger, who started at the hospital as a night nurse in 1979. “Every day, I did my best to make a difference in the lives of people.”

During her years at MJEH, Mary also did her part to support hospital programs – serving as an employee ambassador for the Employee Caring Campaign from the Behavioral Health Department for nine years. As an ambassador, she played a role in helping determine the greatest needs among employees in granting gifts from the Employee Crisis Connection Fund. She also donated to the fund so when staff had emergency needs for financial assistance, the money was available for their use.

“We had some employees with serious crises – including a young woman who needed immediate assistance to buy a plane ticket to attend her mother’s funeral in another state after she died unexpectedly. We also had a staff member who lost everything in a house fire, so we were able to grant them assistance from the fund for various needs.”

Krueger said the fund is administered by the Jennie Edmundson Foundation – so final decisions were made by staff there.

“The fund and Employee Caring Campaign are very important for Jennie and its staff,” she said. “Knowing they are there and available provides emergency financial assistance when it’s needed most."

Jean Armstrong, Employee Caring Campaign Donor

Jean Armstrong has spent 21 years at Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital educating and helping people.

Whether it involves instructing people how to lower their cholesterol or how to handle a heart disease diagnosis, it’s been her role – and privilege – to make sure they understand what they can do to improve their health and lives.

She also advocates for the health and welfare of children – specifically about the dangers and prevention of shaken baby syndrome and dealing with the death of a loved one. She also loves the work she does with grieving children, in particular, assembling Memory Bags filled with various materials that help them learn from and cope with the passing of a grandparent, parent or other family member.

These programs have become her passion – and they make her proud to work at Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, where the Employee Caring Campaign does so much good.

“I’ve always been an advocate of the Employee Caring Campaign because it supports many of the community-focused programs I administer and love,” she said.

“We offer some wonderful resources for the community, and many of them are because of funding from the campaign,” she said. “I can’t say enough good things about what it means to people who are in need of help – and we never know when we might be that person who needs the help.”

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Remember that employees' gifts -- in any amount -- will support excellent patient care and the projects and programs at Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital and show our community that employees believe in the important work our Jennie Family does.

Thank you for your support! Learn more at jehfoundation.org.