Care Packages and Connection: A Local Group’s Efforts Bring Joy to Cancer Patients

Press Release Thumbnail
Pictured left to right are members of the Keith Dawson Foundation with BMT staff: Keith Jones; Toni Stewart; Nadege Akil, MSN, CRNP, FNP-BC; Keith Hilliard-Dawson; Suzanne McHale, BSN, RN, BMTCN; Miriam Hilliard; Maribel Valentin-Luciano, LSW; and phlebotomist Jessica Feliciano. 

Members of the Keith Dawson Foundation visited the Fox Chase-Temple University Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at TUH-Jeanes Campus in late December to share goodies and spread good cheer to patients, caregivers, and staff.

This was the fifth year that the group has hand-delivered care packages to the BMT Unit, an act of kindness that aligns with their mission: to support those affected by leukemia and lymphoma, to raise awareness, and to promote a healthier lifestyle.

The foundation’s namesake provides the inspiration. Through the charitable work of his family and friends, Keith Dawson is remembered for his love of family and his unique gift for engaging with everyone around him—even through treatment for a rare form of leukemia.  

“This visit was an uplifting experience for both our patients and staff,” said Suzanne McHale, BSN, RN, BMTCN, Director, Nursing Services, Fox Chase-Temple Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy. “The care packages for our patients as well as the goodies for our inpatient and outpatient nurses’ stations were a welcome treat. More importantly, the thoughtfulness that went into this visit made us all feel cared for in a special way.”

Pictured left to right are members of the Keith Dawson Foundation with BMT staff: Keith Jones; Toni Stewart; Nadege Akil, MSN, CRNP, FNP-BC; Keith Hilliard-Dawson; Suzanne McHale, BSN, RN, BMTCN; Miriam Hilliard; Maribel Valentin-Luciano, LSW; and phlebotomist Jessica Feliciano. 

Fox Chase Cancer Center (Fox Chase), which includes the Institute for Cancer Research and the American Oncologic Hospital and is a part of Temple Health, is one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase is also one of just 10 members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence six consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.

For more information, call 888-369-2427