Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center’s newest installment in the Rick Smith Gallery, “A Call to Serve,” will feature portraits and testimonials of Memorial Hermann employees who have also served in the U.S. Military.
Memorial Hermann takes pride in employing many medical professionals with military history,” said Greg Haralson, CEO of Memorial Hermann-TMC. “We want to honor them and show appreciation for their service to our country and their contributions to health care, especially during the month of November when we come together to recognize all those who serve. The gallery features just some of the many veterans employed by Memorial Hermann.”
A Call to Serve” will feature portraits of more than a dozen Memorial Hermann employees from diverse military backgrounds. Some of the veterans are pictured with images of their time in the service and others with painted words that represent why they answered the call to serve in the military and in health care. The gallery will be open to the public on November 16, 2018.
Health care wasn’t always my path, but it was something that I desired to do,” said Lakeisha Atkins, a neuroscience intensive care unit nurse at Memorial Hermann-TMC who is featured in the gallery. “I was 17 when I signed up to serve in the U.S. Navy. I served for eight years, but it wasn’t until my last two years that I really started to take my goals of being a nurse more seriously. I love being around people and it takes a very sensitive person to be the strength for someone when they are having a really tough time.”
The Rick Smith Gallery, which was funded through employee contributions to the Annual Employee Campaign, was created in memory of Rick Smith, the late director of Chaplaincy Services at Memorial Hermann-TMC who understood the importance of healing the body, mind and soul. Located near the main lobby in the hospital’s Hermann Atrium, it is open to all employees, patients and visitors, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This is the gallery’s 14th installment since it opened in 2012. Previous exhibits have featured paintings, photographs, mixed media and sculptures by physicians and hospital employees; professional photographic images of the Campus’ beloved therapy pets; hand-drawn portraits of caregivers by pediatric patients; Holocaust Museum Houston’s Butterfly Project, and a history of Memorial Hermann Life Flight®.