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Local health partners gift Christmas baskets to families in need

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BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — December is known as a time of the year to give back—and in Century Square in College Station, local health partners are coming together to bring holiday cheer to families in need this Christmas.

“It is gifting to families in need,” says Claudia Massie, director of Patient Care for Visiting Angels. “Families that would either have a food shortage or go without this Christmas.”

“These home health patients are typically post a traumatic event, either in the hospital and they come home and they’re recovering and they’re going through their nursing or physical therapy and so what better way to bring the holidays to them than to gift them with food and to be able to celebrate with their families and not have to spend a dime,” says Massie.

George Watkins with Health Quest Home Health has come out each year to gift baskets to his patients.

“There are a lot of patients in this community that are in need of these types of things and we’re just really thankful that this has been something we’ve been doing for a couple of years now and it looks it’s just getting bigger,” says George Watkins, administrator at Health Quest Home Health. “We’re really thankful for that and I know our patients really appreciate it.”

Claudia Massie with Visiting Angels says as health partners come together to gift baskets, they’re bringing families together as well.

“In a very competitive market and industry, the medical field truly does come together to benefit these families and just support them through a very difficult but should be a very magical compassionate time for them,” says Massie.

“It’s absolutely beautiful to see all of us just come together as one,” says Ashley Allen, marketing director for Signature Care 24 ER. “It doesn’t matter if we are the same entities. It doesn’t matter if we are in the same brand. It doesn’t matter. Our love protrudes onto others, and we just want to keep on continuing to spread this each year.”

The Christmas baskets donated include ham, sides and fixings, dessert, Christmas décor, and toiletries.

Baskets were delivered to patients today, and more are expected to be given out tomorrow.

Sponsors this year include Amedisys Hospice, Accentcare Hospice, All Heart Placement, Bluebonnet, Broadmoor Place, Bluebonnet Hospice, Encompass Inpatient Rehab, Hospice Brazos Valley, MirCare Consultant, Remarkable Hospice, Senator Schwertner, SignatureCare 24 HR ER, and Visiting Angels.