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Executives help upgrade free clinic

GE Healthcare leaders made about $100,000 worth of improvements during conference.

By JON WILSON
Published January 17, 2007

Senior GE Healthcare executives from around the world attended a three-day leadership conclave in St. Pete Beach this week.

But instead of using their free time whacking around the golf course, the 165 executives opted to spend an afternoon doing a community service project.

The one-day mission resulted in dramatic upgrades to St. Petersburg Free Clinic facilities Thursday.

Among other things, volunteers:

-Hauled 18-inch-square turf chunks, pushed wheelbarrows and set sidewalk blocks at the women's center. They pulled plants from pots and stuck them in the ground. They updated supply sheds and the women's clothing boutique.

-Took out a fence and installed a new one at Beacon House, the men's shelter. They repainted trim, laid a walkway, built an awning, painted benches, refurbished a room and built a TV stand.

GE Healthcare also donated an electrocardiograph system, five vital signs monitors and reusable blood pressure cuffs to the clinic, and has promised to develop a food bank marketing plan to attract more donations.

Including donations, supplies, labor and plan development, the volunteers' project amounted to about $100,000, Free Clinic and GE officials estimated.

Such projects are part of GE's corporate culture, said Heather Menshouse, who runs a GE Healthcare office in Tampa.

Geography helped the Free Clinic get chosen. Its operations are 15 minutes from the Don CeSar, where the executives were staying.

"We looked for a nearby facility whose mission matched with us well," said Carrie Michael, a spokeswoman for GE Healthcare.

The volunteers did it all in about three hours.

"It's amazing how organized they are," said Brent Jenkins, Beacon House director.

GE Healthcare is a $14-billion division of General Electric Co., its company literature says.

It employs more than 42,500 people and serves patients in more than 100 countries.

Fast Facts:

The St. Petersburg Free Clinic

- Founded in 1970.

- Community-funded, with 90 percent of contributions used to finance services.

- 300 volunteers help run the operation.

- Sees 600 clients per month for basic medical needs.

- Distributes about 2-million pounds of food each year to the needy.

- Provides hygiene items, counseling and limited financial assistance for low- to moderate-income people.

[Last modified January 16, 2007, 23:14:40]