A group of families grateful to the care teams in Baton Rouge General’s COVID intensive care unit (ICU) have come together to raise funds for improvements on the unit, including brighter lighting and upgraded break rooms.
Ronnie Anderson, former head of the Louisiana Farm Bureau, was in the COVID ICU for 50 days, first arriving with COVID-19 on March 18, 2020. With his wife Vivian there to greet him, he was finally discharged from BRG after 64 days.
“We were able to visit with the ICU staff months later, as they were still continuing to fight COVID every day,” said Vivian Anderson. “We were even more compelled to do whatever we could to show our appreciation for the care and compassion they gave to us.”
Joining the Andersons for the meet-up with ICU staff were Darrel and Liz Vannoy. Darrel, a warden with the Louisiana Department of Corrections, was admitted to Baton Rouge General on Jan. 8, 2021, where he remained on a ventilator in the COVID ICU for nearly a month. Part of the group was Dianne Sykora, who wants to help to raise money in memory of her husband Jim following 103 days in BRG’s ICU last year.
Lynn and Tom Gilmore connected with the group of grateful families to lend their support. Tom was the first COVID-19 patient admitted to BRG on March 16. In the hospital 89 days total, he was on a ventilator for 10 weeks and in a coma for eight weeks.
“For nearly two years now, the ICU team has been in the trenches as they cared for so many patients in our community with COVID-19,” said Erik Showalter, president of the Baton Rouge General Foundation. “We are grateful to these families for their passion to give back and support our team.”
With a goal of $70,000, the families are more than halfway there.