Cabarrus Healthcare Foundation News Winter 2022
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WINTER <strong>2022</strong> EDITION<br />
CHAD BUSH...<br />
BATTLING<br />
CANCER,<br />
LIVING LIFE,<br />
GIVING BACK<br />
Racing helped Chad get through some<br />
tough times while receiving care at<br />
Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong>. To give back,<br />
he organized the Chad Bush Clash<br />
Race presented by Martin Truex Jr.<br />
Motorsports to benefit our hospital<br />
and patients receiving chemotherapy<br />
and radiation at the Batte Cancer<br />
Center in the Levine Cancer Institute<br />
Concord.<br />
Third Party Fundraisers<br />
engage community creativity and<br />
generosity to raise funds<br />
<strong>2022</strong> Annual Gala On Hold<br />
due to continued uncertainty of the<br />
pandemic. This is not what we wanted<br />
but realize it is what is best for our<br />
comminity and our hospital. We will<br />
get through these times together!
CHAD<br />
BUSH<br />
HOW HE IS BATTLING CANCER, LIVING<br />
LIFE TO THE FULLEST AND HELPING<br />
OTHERS THROUGH GIVING BACK<br />
In 1992, at 14 years old, Chad began his journey<br />
with cancer. After all that he’s been through,<br />
the care that he has received at Atrium Health<br />
<strong>Cabarrus</strong> has kept a smile on his face. Although<br />
he was cancer free for a while, he remains<br />
positive at the age of 43 and is living his best<br />
life. His passion for racing is what has brought<br />
him through some of the toughest times. As a<br />
way of giving back to those fighting a similar<br />
fight, Chad organized the Chad Bush Clash<br />
Race presented by Martin Truex Jr. Motorsports<br />
to benefit our hospital, Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong>.<br />
The proceeds of his race benefit patients<br />
receiving chemotherapy and radiation at the Batte Cancer Center in the<br />
Levine Cancer Institute Concord<br />
Chad was going to school, racing, wrestling,<br />
hanging out with his friends and living life as a<br />
normal teen. After a wrestling match, Chad thought<br />
he hurt himself and that was the reason his legs<br />
were going numb and he was not able to get up.<br />
Chad let his dad know what was happening; he<br />
could not move so his dad picked him up and<br />
carried him to see a doctor. He had seen several<br />
doctors but the numbness was not getting better.<br />
After searching, Chad’s parents found a doctor<br />
who diagnosed him with Acute Myeloid Leukemia<br />
(AML); Chad was now fighting for his life.<br />
"We should all<br />
live life to the<br />
fullest like it is<br />
our last day. Do<br />
what you enjoy<br />
with the ones<br />
that you love."<br />
A new adventure was beginning for Chad and his family. He was in and<br />
out of the hospital with chemo treatments and radiation to follow. He was<br />
doing all his high school work in a hospital bed instead of a school building<br />
with all his friends. One Thanksgiving during it all, his family was fortunate<br />
enough to stay in the Ronald McDonald House. Chad can remember eating<br />
spaghetti and seeing blood fall on his plate. He got up and went to the<br />
bathroom, his mom followed him, and he asked her if he was going to die.<br />
As a kid, it was very scary for Chad, but he is forever thankful that he was<br />
always surrounded by such amazing family and caregivers which helped him<br />
make it through it all!<br />
Time went on and Chad was living life as a normal<br />
teenager again; however, one year and 10 days<br />
later, the cancer returned. His cancer journey<br />
started all over with chemo, radiation and even<br />
a bone marrow transplant this time. After all this<br />
treatment, he once again won the battle! Chad’s<br />
doctors told him that in 20 years or so the cancer<br />
could come back, but he was living the victory of<br />
winning for a second time.<br />
CONTINUED >>
Continued...<br />
CHAD BUSH<br />
Following many years without doctors’<br />
appointments or treatments, a spot appeared on<br />
Chad's lip when he was 23 years old. His worst<br />
fear of the cancer returning had become a reality<br />
once again. More tests confirmed the spot on his<br />
lip was Squamous Cell Carcinoma and all he could think was...here we go<br />
again. Soon after the confirmation that the cancer had returned, Chad<br />
received surgery to remove the spot, along with 27 lymph nodes in his<br />
neck. The test results showed the cancer had spread to his lungs. In 2018,<br />
Chad decided that the upper lobe of his lung needed to be removed.<br />
Unfortunately, this surgery did not go as smoothly because of damage<br />
to his organs from so many treatments as a child; Chad had to follow the<br />
surgery with even more chemotherapy and radiation treatments.<br />
In 2020, Chad’s scans showed that his cancer was continuing to grow<br />
and spread to other places in his body. He once again decided to try<br />
chemotherapy; however, this time it made him very sick. At this point,<br />
Chad decided he would rather live life to the fullest than be in bed and<br />
miserable all the time. He spoke with his care team at Atrium Health<br />
<strong>Cabarrus</strong> and made the difficult decision to stop the treatments.<br />
As Chad reflected on 2021, he shared that, "Life is a blessing and we<br />
should all live life to the fullest like tomorrow is our last day." Chad<br />
continues racing which saved him in more ways then he can explain.<br />
"Being surrounded by those that I love makes the fight so much easier, and<br />
it makes the racing so much more fun too!” Chad’s friend and teammate<br />
once said, “Chad has a million things to worry about, but on the track, he<br />
has one and that is to win.” Chad agreed and stated, “No one has ever<br />
been more right, and that’s why through all of this I did all I could to make<br />
sure I could always get to the track. With that, I hope that I have been an<br />
inspiration to someone. I hope I have shown that you should never give up<br />
and always cross the finish line. I need to win this race too. I want to grow<br />
old with my wife and spend all the time I can with the ones I love.”<br />
Chad truly wishes he could put into words what all the help and support<br />
from so many has meant to him along his journey. Because of this support,<br />
Chad wanted to have a fundraising event to give back--and he did just<br />
that! In November of 2021, he hosted the Inaugural Chad Bush Clash Race<br />
presented by Martin Truex Jr. Motorsports. All the funds Chad raised came<br />
back to <strong>Cabarrus</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong> to help support our mission to<br />
Improve Health, Elevate Hope and Advance Healing for all. This event alone<br />
raised over $10,000 and we are grateful for the support from Chad and his<br />
racing community. This was Chad’s way<br />
of saying thank you to his care team and<br />
his community for their support during<br />
his journey. He is hopeful they can hold<br />
the event again next year!<br />
Chad is currently in immunotherapy<br />
treatment and he can see the checkered<br />
flag waving. A huge "Thank You" to Chad<br />
and your supporters for your efforts in<br />
fighting cancer and showing us how to<br />
live life to the fullest while helping others!
THE CRAYON IN<br />
The Jeff Gordon Children’s<br />
teamed up with The Crayon<br />
the Jeff Gordon Children’s C<br />
Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong>. The Crayo<br />
organization that takes unw<br />
manufactures them into new<br />
them to children’s hospitals<br />
organizations that are inves<br />
ATRIUM HEALTH<br />
CABARRUS WELCOMES<br />
ROY L. HAWKINS JR.<br />
In October, we welcomed Roy L. Hawkins Jr. to our<br />
Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong> family. Roy is the new Senior Vice<br />
President, North Market President. In this role, Roy will<br />
oversee Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong>, Atrium Health Stanly,<br />
Atrium Health University City and the free-standing emergency departments in<br />
Huntersville, Harrisburg and Kannapolis. Roy comes to us from Jackson Memorial<br />
Hospital in Miami, FL overseeing a 300 plus patient bed facility.<br />
Roy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Howard University<br />
in Washington, D.C., and a Master of Health Administration degree from Florida<br />
International University in Miami. He served as the President of the National<br />
Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE) from 2013-2015.<br />
Away from the office, Roy enjoys road cycling, yoga, meditation and traveling<br />
with his family. We are excited to have Roy join us in <strong>Cabarrus</strong> County supporting<br />
patients, teammates and the community.<br />
THIRD PARTY FUNDRAISING EVENTS<br />
FIGHTING BREAST CANCER<br />
This year we have been so blessed with community<br />
partners hosting third party fundraisers to support<br />
the Breast Health Center at Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong>!<br />
Covenant Classical School in Concord hosted their<br />
first pink out volleyball game on October 1st .<br />
Cox Mill High School hosted a pink out football<br />
game and had a spirit night at PDQ to raise funds.<br />
Top Gun Sports held their annual Fight Like a Girl<br />
softball tournament in October, raising $15,000.<br />
The <strong>Cabarrus</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> Fo<br />
Shelby Austin, Nurse Manag<br />
Crayon Initiative at Axalta o<br />
During the event, there wer<br />
and LP Building Solutions a<br />
champion Jeff Gordon who<br />
create new crayons for our<br />
Children’s Center at Atrium
INTERNAL GRANTS<br />
The <strong>Cabarrus</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong> and its Board of Directors<br />
AWARDED $214,629.49 IN INTERNAL GRANTS TO 19 HOSPITAL<br />
DEPARTMENTS. The following Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong> departments<br />
received funding in August during the “Virtual Prize Patrol” event:<br />
Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong><br />
Rehabilitation Gateway<br />
<strong>Cabarrus</strong> College of Health Sciences<br />
(4 areas received a grant)<br />
Cardiac Rehabilitation<br />
(2 areas received a grant)<br />
Carolinas Rehabilitation<br />
Clinical Nutrition<br />
Complex Care Clinic<br />
(2 areas received a grant)<br />
Diabetes Education<br />
Emergency Care Services<br />
Nursing Administration<br />
(2 areas received a grant)<br />
Patient Care Services<br />
Peer Support Program<br />
Transition Services<br />
Trauma Services<br />
The <strong>Cabarrus</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong> has now awarded OVER $1.7<br />
MILLION in Internal Grant dollars to Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong>.<br />
ITIATIVE<br />
<strong>Foundation</strong> and Axalta<br />
Initiative to give back to<br />
enter (JGCC) at Atrium<br />
n Initiative is a nonprofit<br />
anted crayons and reones<br />
and then donates<br />
, art programs and other<br />
ted in our children.<br />
undation along with<br />
er at JGCC, joined The<br />
n November 10, 2021.<br />
e volunteers from Axalta<br />
s well as former NASCAR<br />
worked together to<br />
patients at Jeff Gordon<br />
Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong>.<br />
JEFF GORDON CHILDREN’S<br />
CENTER TOY DRIVE<br />
During the first two weeks of December, we<br />
teamed up with the Jeff Gordon Children’s<br />
<strong>Foundation</strong> to collect toys for our 2nd Annual<br />
Jeff Gordon Children’s Center Toy Drive. We<br />
partnered with 6 businesses to serve as drop-off<br />
locations. We received toys for children, items for<br />
our smallest NICU babies, homemade blankets<br />
and pillowcases and books for all ages! Your<br />
selfless acts of giving this holiday season were<br />
sincerely appreciated by our our drop-off partners,<br />
<strong>Foundation</strong> team and our hospital employees.<br />
Thank you for your generosity and for helping us<br />
bring smiles to our smallest and most vulnerable<br />
patients this holiday season! Thank you to Jeff, his<br />
family and <strong>Foundation</strong> for their continued support!
ATRIUM HEALTH TEAMMATES<br />
DONATE OVER $300,000<br />
Our teammates have been with us, giving back to our community and to the<br />
<strong>Foundation</strong> since 1994. The result is an unbelievable and truly extraordinary<br />
feat – over TWO MILLION DOLLARS generously donated through our<br />
teammate giving campaigns.<br />
This year, the <strong>Cabarrus</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong> joined forces with Atrium<br />
Health Gives for the teammate giving campaign, providing a one-stop<br />
opportunity to support all the causes across the Atrium Health System.<br />
This partnership brings greater impact, support and love to Atrium Health<br />
<strong>Cabarrus</strong>, with the same mission at heart.<br />
This year’s Campaign started in September and ended in October raising<br />
over $300,000 for our hospital with over 2,000 teammate donors<br />
participating. With these funds, Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong> has been able to<br />
provide and fund hundreds of programs, special projects and initiatives<br />
designed specifically for <strong>Cabarrus</strong>. Each dollar allows us to provide care at<br />
the highest level to our community. We know these past two years have not<br />
been easy and WE LOVE OUR TEAMMATES!<br />
OUR CAMPAIGN HAS<br />
ENDED AND WE DID IT!<br />
Our five-year campaign, We Give First,<br />
which began in 2017 and was approved<br />
by the <strong>Cabarrus</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong><br />
Board of Directors with a fundraising<br />
goal of $8 million ended in December<br />
2021. The We Give First campaign supports 10 areas within our hospital and<br />
provides flexibility to our donors, allowing them to designate which area of<br />
Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong> their gift will benefit. We Give First so when you or<br />
someone you love needs medical treatment or care, Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong><br />
is the First and Best choice for healthcare. Thank you for your support of<br />
this campaign. We are excited to release the final campaign dollars raised<br />
in the next few weeks and in our Annual Report next month!<br />
*As of 12/1/21
1942 CLUB<br />
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT<br />
LAUREN MAYHONE, RN<br />
CCHS Class of 2021 and Atrium Health Teammate<br />
Q: Who is Lauren Mayhone?<br />
A: I am from Charlotte, North Carolina born and<br />
raised! I graduated in May 2021 from <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College<br />
of Health Sciences with an Associate Degree in<br />
Nursing. I currently work at Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong> on<br />
the Post-Surgical floor as a Nurse.<br />
Q: How did <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College prepare you for your<br />
current role?<br />
A: <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College prepared me to be a Nurse in<br />
a multitude of ways. The College provides excellent curriculum, hands on<br />
clinical experiences, and numerous skills lab opportunities to teach students<br />
what it truly means to be and practice as a nurse. The faculty and staff go<br />
above and beyond to pour into their students and help them be as successful<br />
as they can.<br />
Q: What would you tell current students about the importance of giving back<br />
to <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College?<br />
A: I think current students should be educated on the importance of<br />
giving back to their community, and especially <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College. During<br />
my time at <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College, I found a new love for nursing, healthcare,<br />
and making myself available to future student nurses. I would encourage<br />
current students to volunteer in any way that they can. It is very important to<br />
build the healthcare community and I believe <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College has multiple<br />
opportunities that allow students to give back.<br />
Q: What are a couple of things you loved most about <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College?<br />
A: I loved so many aspects of <strong>Cabarrus</strong> College. I loved the staff and how<br />
close knit they were to us. I felt like I knew my professors on a personal level,<br />
and that I could go to them with any and every issue I<br />
had. I also loved the clinical experience they gave us.<br />
Students were given the chance to experience a variety<br />
of floors and specialties. Lastly, I loved the Transition<br />
to Practice Program, also known as the Practicum<br />
Experience. This was the opportunity that made me the<br />
most confident in my abilities as a Nurse. I believe all<br />
students should be given the opportunity to experience<br />
practicum during their time in nursing school.<br />
LEARN MORE<br />
ABOUT<br />
THE 1942 CLUB
1st ANNUAL<br />
WEAR PINK FUNDRAISER<br />
For Breast Health Awareness Month<br />
The first annual Wear Pink Fundraiser, hosted in 2021<br />
supporting the Breast Health Center at Atrium Health<br />
<strong>Cabarrus</strong>, was one for the record books! Organizations<br />
and businesses stepped up to the plate and proved to<br />
us that they are passionate about raising awareness<br />
for Breast Cancer! Businesses who participated<br />
invited their employees to pay $5 to wear pink one<br />
day in October to raise money for the Breast Health<br />
Center at Atrium Health <strong>Cabarrus</strong>. We were amazed<br />
at the outpouring of support, especially during the<br />
pandemic. Even employees working remotely had<br />
the option to give online and wear their pink in their<br />
home office. We were so impressed with the results<br />
this year and are happy to announce that WE RAISED<br />
$6,752.96 in our first year! To those organizations and<br />
individuals who participated, THANK YOU! Thank you<br />
to these Wear Pink Partners: Carolina Neurosurgery<br />
and Spine Associates, <strong>Cabarrus</strong> Pediatrics, Sanger<br />
Heart and Vascular Institute, Corning, Oiles America,<br />
Hilbish Ford, TEAM HONEYCUTT/Allen Tate Realtors,<br />
City of Concord Employees, <strong>Cabarrus</strong> County<br />
Employees, Uwharrie Bank, AHC Radiation Oncology<br />
Employees, SpeedMax Car Wash and Dr. Christopher<br />
Holland.<br />
The Breast Health Center offers screenings, diagnoses<br />
and treatments using the very latest technology. If<br />
your organization was not able to participate in 2021,<br />
be on the lookout for our 2nd Annual Wear Pink<br />
Fundraiser in <strong>2022</strong>.