Organizing Community Efforts: Community Activation Team

November 12, 2019
For many years members of different clinical teams have attended community events throughout the year in the surrounding communities. We have a strongly committed group of employees who staff community events talking about trauma prevention, maintaining strength and flexibility, breast health, weight loss and the hazards of vaping, among many other topics.

This spring, we began a process to give the group more structure, and to open it up to more employees under the auspices of a Community Activation Team. Community Activation events range from health fairs and seasonal festivals, to road races, community clean up events, and any other community engagement that the hospital participates in. Employees provide health education and administer health screenings and just pitch in a variety of other ways. While the topics and themes may change from event to event, the goal is to empower employees who can donate a few hours of their time to better serve the Lawrence, Methuen, Andover, North Andover, and other surrounding communities.

The Community Activation Team is organized by chief marketing and communication officer Jill McDonald Halsey and Marketing project coordinator Elizabeth Delgado. The group was created with a vision of better organizing the hospital’s community presence and engagement. Notable events covered for 2019 include Comcast Cares/Earth Day, Lawrence Senior Day, Salsa Festival, Ciclovia, Run for Colleen 5K, Spicket River Cleanup, and Andover Day. Lawrence General will also participate in the Feaster Five road race on Thanksgiving Day.

"Hospitals are at the heart of the communities they serve,” comments Jill. “And at Lawrence General our ethic is to look beyond our walls and find ways to contribute to the broader health of our community. Sometimes that means talking about the benefits of screening mammography and sometimes it’s planting flowers. Regardless, we are in a profession that employs people who are inclined to care for our neighbors and this team presents another opportunity to do that.”

The team is recruiting new members and your help is welcome in whatever ways you are interested in contributing. Popular activation topics include addiction prevention and education, environmental cleanup, walk/run/cycle, health education, and health screenings.

For those with questions, please contact Elizabeth at Elizabeth.Delgado@lawrencegeneral.org.