Patient First in the Community

On Saturday, February 3rd, the town of Havre De Grace hosted their annual Havre De Grace Ice Festival. 50 beautifully crafted and polished sculptures hewn from blocks of ice adorned the streets of town, creating a festive atmosphere amidst the doldrums of winter.

In addition to the outdoor sights, the festival also hosts a vendor fair and children's play area inside the STAR Centre, formerly Havre De Grace High School. The facility features a gymnasium that hosted the vendor fair with character appearances, as well as two large bounce houses for kids to frolic about. The Centre's auditorium played host for the "Elsa and Friends" character show, as well as a "Jurassic Kingdom" presentation for children and adults alike. To top off the afternoon and evening's events, the festival featured a bit of wintry fire, by holding a chili cookoff, with more than a dozen entries from local restaurants and food service providers.

This was Patient First's initial year of participation with this event, and it could not have gone off more smoothly for us! With our Aberdeen center just six miles from the STAR Centre, our Aberdeen staff served as amazing representatives, as hundreds of people streamed by to thank us for the services we provide, and to help themselves to the promotional items on hand.

 This festival was a welcome addition to our event schedule, and we are already looking ahead to sponsoring future activities at the STAR Centre, including their summer camp program, and their gymnasium, which hosts sports programs year-round. To paraphrase Casablanca, it looks like the beginning of a beautiful partnership!

Patient First recently participated on Market Day at Strathmore Elementary. The event took place at the school’s gym and was held from 4:30 until all of our giveaway items were gone!

The event is organized by the school to help their students and community with free fresh produce and shelf stable items. High School students are also encouraged to volunteer at these events by helping distribute produce, sanitary needs, and running heavy bags back to cars.

Our table was located near the exit. We had blinkers, hand sanitizers and band aids along with other Patient First goodies. We enjoyed interacting with everyone that came by to say hello and answered a few questions regarding insurance and self-pay pricing. 

Overall, the event was a success! There were only a few boxes of broccoli and some fruit left by the time the doors closed. 
 

Each year since 2017, one of our first events of the new year has been in the Lehigh Valley. This year was no exception. Patient First was delighted to return as a sponsor for "Super Sunday" at the Jewish Community Center in Allentown, PA. This community center is just a two-minute drive from our Allentown center, so the relationship we have established over the years has been a great one for all involved.

The facility is fantastic! They run a full-service community center with a gym, a pool, a pre-school and all sorts of family friendly and educational opportunities for all ages. The center is open year-round, and provides a valuable service to Allentown's "West End" community, as well as folks from across the Lehigh Valley. Everyone is welcome!

The Super Sunday event attracted hundreds of adults, children and families who participated in a day full of activities, and each had an opportunity to visit with our Patient First staff. Event organizers set us up in a prime location just inside the front doors. We literally got to interact with everyone who walked through the doors during the day. This year, in addition to the planned "Super Sunday" activities, they also hosted a basketball event in their gym, which attracted people from all over, boosting attendance.

We provided complimentary blood pressure checks for adults, and we kept everyone amused with our give-away items. Our yo-yos and balsa wood airplanes were particularly popular with both children and adults.

As we wrapped up event day, we were so pleased that we had the opportunity to interact with so many people who are big fans of Patient First. Many told up about their positive experiences at our Allentown and Bethlehem centers, in particular. We are already excited about returning to this event again next year!

On January 11, we had the privilege of participating in a PEP(Parents as Educational Partners) meeting at Leesburg Elementary School, marking the beginning of our partnership with them. The PEP meetings serve as a crucial outreach to the community, engaging parents with valuable information. 

This month’s focus was on health, featuring a presentation by the school nurse addressing important topics on when not to send children to school. I presented our “Are You Too Sick for School” information. Approximately 65 parents attended the event with their children, creating a vibrant and supportive atmosphere. Following my presentation and the nurse’s session, there was a Zumba class. Additionally, the school provided food and free winter clothing, emphasizing their commitment to the community’s well-being. 

The event served as a powerful connection with the community, fostering positive relationships and reinforcing our commitment to the well-being of Leesburg Elementary School and its families. 
 

As 2023 drew to a close, we were happy to return to Bethlehem, PA to join in the fun of the annual PEEPsFest event there. This two-day New Year's eve festival provided lots of fun things for families and children to enjoy all day prior to the event culmination -- the PEEPs "Chick Drop." We were especially happy the event was "hybrid" this year, offering so much activity both indoors and outdoors. Both locations were packed full of people, all out to have a fun time. 

Just Born Quality Confections of Bethlehem partnered with the ArtsQuest organization at SteelStacks to once again bring this blockbuster event to the Lehigh Valley. This year both days were sold out, which indicates how popular it has become over the years, drawing some 3,000 participants each day.

We have enjoyed participating in this event several times over the years, and were sad when it was paused, and then was held exclusively outdoors during the pandemic. Things returned to normal this year, and there's no doubt it became the largest attended event in its history. 

It was such a good feeling to be back on site for this annual event, and to enjoy so many conversations with people who have had great experiences in all three of our Lehigh Valley Patient First locations and beyond, when they were sick or injured. We also helped a lot of new people learn more about what we do at Patient First when they stopped by our table for a complimentary blood pressure check, and to pick up a variety of fun give-away items. Is it too soon to be excited for New Year's eve activities for 2024? This is a must-attend event for families, but there's a lesson learned after this year. Order your tickets early, or you'll be out in the cold with another sold out event in 2024!

The holiday season got off to a great start in Richmond, VA with the 40th annual Dominion Energy Christmas Parade. This rain or shine event, which is free and open to the public, drew large crowds from near and far who lined up along Broad Street as they eagerly waited for the legendary Santa to make his appearance.

The parade began near the Science Museum of Virginia and concluded near the Richmond Coliseum. It included a variety of colorful floats, giant balloons, high school and college marching bands, dance groups, and playful holiday characters, including a particular Grinch whose heart grew three sizes that day.

Patient First, who has sponsored and participated in the event for several years now, was given the opportunity to carry the largest balloon in the parade - a 35' Cookie Monster balloon!  With guided direction from the balloon company and perhaps a little Christmas magic, 15 Patient First employees successfully navigated the balloon through city street lights, overhung tree limbs, and power lines. Patient First even got Cookie Monster to do a few spins, making him one of the more popular attractions.

Our staff looks forward to participating in the parade each year, as it allows our mission to come full circle, affording us an opportunity to have a front row seat to our community and those we serve. We can hardly wait to see what balloon is in store for us in 2024!

We love participating at events at Bethlehem's Hanover Township Community Center, since it is located literally right down the street from our Bethlehem center. Once again we were invited to join their annual tree lighting and holiday event, and we were delighted to return. Mother Nature was not kind on event day, and brought us rainy conditions all day. Event organizers successfully pivoted, however, and brought most of the event indoors. We didn't complain since it allowed us to stay toasty warm inside and not be outdoors in the cold, wet weather. 

Each year this free event attracts hundreds of folks from the neighborhood and beyond, and this year was no exception. The lobby of the Community Center was packed full of people  before the event even began. This year participants enjoyed so many fun, family-friendly activities, including cookie decorating, an ice carving demonstration, an indoor snowball battle, and event photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. There was even free food and beverages, and a local middle school band to set the holiday spirit. It was such a fun time for us, and a great evening out for families from the community!

Patient First has been a long-time sponsor and supporter of this community center over the years, and we have enjoyed a great relationship with the staff and volunteers who help make things happen there. We jump at the opportunity to join events there since everyone is so nice to work with, and the community appreciates having a Patient First in their neighborhood. We were thrilled to receive so many thanks and compliments from the locals who have supported us over the years. We look forward to joining more activities there in 2024!

We love being part of Bethlehem's Christkindlmarkt each year, and every year it seems to get bigger and better, if that is even possible. We were on site on Saturday, November 18 for Opening Weekend and the kickoff of the event's 31st anniversary.

The staff who puts this enormous event together is second to none, and it is always a pleasure to work with them. A host of volunteers are on site to ensure everyone has an amazing experience.

Although temperatures are chilly this time of year, we don't mind, since we always enjoy a steady flow of foot traffic while we are there from morning until night. This year we had many great conversations with folks who have visited our Lehigh Valley centers, plus others throughout eastern Pennsylvania, central Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. It was great to hear all of their positive comments about Patient First. We were particularly delighted to talk with a bus load of folks who traveled to the event from New Jersey, many of whom had visited our South Jersey centers, and had positive experiences with our providers and staff there.

Christkindlmarkt is a "must attend" even that continues weekends until Christmas. It features lots of holiday attractions like ice carving, decorations of all sorts, holiday trees and jumbo ornaments and of course, lots of shopping for thousands of gift items.

Huge tents are set up on campus to showcase traditional artisans and vendors.

A nice surprise for us this year was a visit from Miss Pennsylvania Miranda Moore, who will compete for the title of Miss America in January 2024 in Florida.

The event has been named one of the top holiday markets in the world by Travel + Leisure, and one of the top holiday markets in North America by USA TODAY. We look forward to returning again in 2024!

Patient First had the honor of sponsoring the 35th annual Sterling Festival on Saturday, October 7th, 2023. Every year the Sterling Foundation throws a massive block party surrounding the Sterling Community Center. Local artisans, crafters and businesses are invited to participate at this event. Attractions include an obstacle course, games, live music, a beer garden and much more for both adults and kids to enjoy.

Unfortunately for us, Mother Nature was not on our side. We had rain on and off throughout the event and winds that were at times too strong. Despite of the weather, we were able to interact with a lot of families that frequent our Sterling location, which was only 3 miles away.

This event is one of the largest in Sterling, and it is always a favorite among locals who anxiously its arrival every October. Overall, our Patient First staff had a great time and hope to be back next year!

Patient First is proud to partner with Moody Middle School this year by donating funds to help purchase agenda books for the students.  We recognize the challenges faced by educators and students to ensure effective communication and organization.  The agenda books are a valuable tool that empowers students to keep track of their assignments, deadlines and important events.  Utilizing these books can enhance students academic performance and helps create a successful environment.  We look forward to witnessing the positive impact of agenda books on the students educational journey!