San Andreas, CA…This Nurses Week, we cannot say “thank you” enough to the brave women and men on the front line. Each day they go to work and put the needs of others first. Doing the job they were called to do in circumstances that no one could imagine. They never give up, no matter what. And once this is over, you’ll still find nurses in the same place—being the heroes they have always been.

Mark Twain Medical Center Kicks Off Hospital/Nurses Week By supporting local businessBy supporting local business. Staff at Mark Twain Medical Center (MTMC) are celebrating their nurses and staff this week. This year the fun will be at a distance for Nurses Week and Hospital Week. In an appreciation for their hard work and dedication all throughout the year, and now more than ever staff will receive gifts, prizes and meals from local businesses in Calaveras County.

“It became very apparent while planning for our Annual Hospital/Nurses Week this year that many of our local businesses are unable to remain open and or conduct business as they have always have, stated Doug Archer, President and CEO. “Our Chief Philanthropy Officer Julie Cantrall shared a story with our planning team that she had recently been an attendee of one of the Calaveras Chamber of Commerce’s Virtual Mixers and that some of the local business owners were sharing many of their challenges of being a small business owner, and truly fearful that they may not be able to withstand this present emergency health crisis and its economic impacts. Julie told us that many of the stories pulled heavily at her heart strings. That not unlike other communities, those businesses that are able to stay open, are struggling with how to develop new and innovative ways to promote, ship and sell their products. Hearing this, we all unanimously agreed to include ways to support local small businesses for our upcoming Hospital/Nurses Week. We contacted a few of them throughout the county in an effort to provide locally purchased and even handmade items right here in Calaveras County as gifts, snacks, and meals for our staff during Hospital/Nurses Week.

For obvious reasons, this year we are doing things differently in celebrating our staff throughout the week for Hospital and Nurses Week. While we are not able to host our annual Nurses Day BBQ, and other fun activities, we are still safely recognizing all of the great work that our staff does for each other and our community.

We are planning daily staff giveaways that are Calaveras Made. Each day we will randomly draw employee names for locally made, baked, and manufactured products such as individual bags of Coffee- from Roasters Coffee in Murphys, bottles of Olive Oil- Mangini Farms in Wallace, and handmade Goat Soap and Lip Balm – from OPI Farms in West Point. On Monday we will be serving staff homemade muffins for breakfast from – Up Country Catering in San Andreas, another day we are delivering packed wrapped Cookies – made by Lila and Sage in Murphys, on Thursday we are delivering pizza from Gold Dust Pizza in Copperopolis, and we will finish out the week with individual packages of delicious nuts- from Moke Hill Nuts.

We are proud of the fact that Mark Twain Medical Center has a long history of working in collaboration with our community partners to enhance our quality of life in Calaveras County. Each year our sponsorship efforts contribute over sixty thousand dollars towards supporting local organizations and business in many ways. As the largest private employer and only hospital in Calaveras County- we value the fact that our support is essential for those organizations that align with our mission, vision and values.

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About Mark Twain Medical Center Founded in 1951, Mark Twain Medical Center is a 25-bed, critical access hospital providing inpatient acute care, outpatient services and emergency services. The Medical Center’s Medical Staff represents a broad range of specialties that ensure access to high quality medical care in a rural community. In addition to being a major provider of health services, Mark Twain Medical Center is also one of the area’s largest employers. More than 300 people are employed at the hospital and its five Family Medical Centers. The Medical Center is a member of Dignity Health and a part of CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the nation dedicated to advancing health for all and serving communities in 21 states. For more information, please visit our website at. Mark Twain Medical Center is also on Facebook.