SU Donates Cancer Comfort Kits for TidalHealth Patients

SALISBURY, MD---Patients receiving cancer treatment at TidalHealth facilities on the Delmarva Peninsula soon will receive a little extra care thanks to Salisbury University.

As part of the University’s Presidential Inauguration Week festivities, celebrating the investiture of Dr. Carolyn Ringer Lepre as the institution’s 10th President, SU community members donated items for, and packed, 250 cancer comfort care kits.

Lepre recently joined TidalHealth President and CEO Dr. Steve Leonard to donate those kits for patients at TidalHealth’s Richard A. Henson Cancer Institute in Salisbury and Ocean Pines, and Allen Cancer Center in Seaford, DE.

“Virtually everyone has been touched by cancer, whether that’s as the friend or relative of a patient, as a caretaker, or as a patient themselves,” said Lepre. “At Salisbury University, we are committed to giving back to our community.

“We are especially committed to those affected by cancer, through such programs as our student Relay For Life organization, which has raised more than $1.5 million in the past two decades to benefit research and treatment programs through the American Cancer Society.

“We hope these kits go one step further in helping bring a measure of comfort for those in our community who are fighting their battle against cancer.”

“Cancer is unforgiving. To beat it, you need to be just as relentless in your treatment approach,” said Leonard. “Equally important, as anyone who works here will tell you, is the compassionate side of care we provide to the thousands of people who pass through our cancer programs annually. This gesture is extra special, and is symbolic of TidalHealth’s and SU’s strong and decades-long relationship to our community.”

Items collected for the kits included comfortable socks, word search and crossword puzzle books, mini notepads and journals, personal-sized sweet snacks, sugar-free candies, tissues, hand sanitizer, lotion, sunscreen samples and soft-bristle toothbrushes.

Students, faculty and staff packing the kits also provided notes of encouragement for their recipients. TidalHealth expects to begin distributing the kits to patients this month.

Pictured, from left, are Eli Modlin, SU chief of staff and vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives; Eric Stewart, SU deputy chief of staff for communication; Jessica Hales, TidalHealth Foundation president; Brian Koehler, SU special events manager; Stacy Giles, TidalHealth executive director of cancer services; Heather Turner, TidalHealth director of operations for cancer services; Steve Leonard, TidalHealth President and chief executive officer; Dr. Heather Holmes, SU Center for Student Achievement director and Relay for Life co-advisor; SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre; Joe Benyish, SU Orientation Program director; Salisbury University; Kayla Pedersen, SU Relay For Life President; Timothy Feist, TidalHealth vice president of ambulatory services and chief VP of Ambulatory Services & corporate compliance officer; Roger Follebout, TidalHealth director of strategic communications, Christopher Hall, TidalHealth vice president of strategy and business development and chief business officer; and Jason Curtin, SU vice president of advancement.

Learn more about opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at the SU website.