Kids help agency celebrate 35th anniversary

Wanda Ogle (left) and Brenda Bailey (right), both nurses at Mercy Home Care, pose for a photograph with Angel Taylor, a first grader at Eugene Ware Elementary School. Taylor won the first place trophy in a drawing contest held recently to celebrate the health care agency's 35th anniversary in the community. Several area elementary school students participated in the contest and also learned information about Mercy Home Care. (Submitted photo)

Area youngsters recently used their artistic skills to help a local health care agency celebrate its 35th anniversary.

To commemorate Mercy Home Care's 35th anniversary of service in the community, the organization engaged kindergarten students, first grade students and second grade students from Winfield Scott Elementary School and Eugene Ware Elementary School in educational programs and a drawing contest.

Brenda Bailey and Wanda Ogle, both registered nurses at Mercy Home Care, met with the children to provide education on prevention of spreading germs and to teach the children about how nurses help people when they go into a patient's home. Students were then asked to draw a picture of what they believe homecare nurses do, and all of the pictures were then judged to determine which depicted the best representation of Mercy Home Care's service.

"It's amazing how creative all of the pictures were," Mercy Home Care Director Becky Davied said. "I am very impressed with the time and thought that went into each picture, and narrowing it down to first, second and third places was difficult."

The first place contest trophy was awarded to Angel Taylor, a first grader at Eugene Ware. Jenny Heckman, a kindergartener at Winfield Scott received the second place trophy, and the third place winner was Ashtyn Dowell, a second grader at Eugene Ware.

"Each student did an exceptional job of representing what we do through their art," Davied said. "Our home care staff truly enjoyed looking at every entry, and they are now posted on the walls by the cafeteria at Mercy Health Center for visitors to enjoy."

Gifts that contest participants received were provided by Mercy Nutritional Services, Woods Supermarket and Walmart.

For more information on Mercy Home Care and its services, call (620) 223-8091.