Practicing Safe Skin: Partnering with Emerson Hospital and a Heartfelt Tribute to Emily Laura King Edwards
This year marks our second consecutive “season” partnered with our friends at Emerson Hospital to place 19 total sunscreen dispensers around the Concord region of Massachusetts. A few of the dispensers are lovingly in place thanks to the generous and touching support of Mark Edwards in tribute to his wife Emily (read further to learn more…)
The automatic dispensers can be found in:
- Chelmsford at Roberts Field, Varney Park, and Heart Pond
- Bedford at Tot Lot, Saborin Field and Big Path at Dept Park
- Concord at Hunt Recreation Center, Ride Out Park, and Visitor Center
- Maynard at Alumni Field, Maynard HS and Maynard Golf Course
- Hudson at Riverside Tennis Courts and Assabet River Rail Trail
- Westford at Forge Beach and Elliot Mcelliogott Park
The dispensers found in Westford are in tribute to Emily Laura King Edwards who was, foremost, a beloved mother, wife, daughter, aunt, sister, and friend who passed away on July 20th, 2019. She valued and exalted family and friends, nature, art, and community. Emily cared intensely for all people and animals, and especially the vulnerable. She fought for these values throughout her 35 years and over 7 years of fighting melanoma: cancer and its pain did not define Emily, but rather revealed her strength, beauty, grace, spirit, and love.
A campaign fundraiser launched by her husband, Mark, is to help make sure that Emily is celebrated as she deserves. Emily so often celebrated her family and friends first, and now is the time that we celebrate her and continue her fight. The funds will go to the ongoing celebrations of her life, both public and private: Emily wished that trees were planted in her honor in her community, and that sunscreen was widely available at schools and parks. The funds will also go to here desired causes, including: National Parks, Fish and Wildlife Service, ASPCA, adoption/foster care programs, and Jimmy Fund. If you’d like to get involved, please contribute by the end of August.
For more information on her life and celebrations see: http://celebratingemily.kngedwrds.com
Out side of Westford, the bulk of this initiative was put into motion by Emerson Hospital, a community minded full-service healthcare facility founded in 1911, headquartered in IMPACT’s hometown of Concord, MA. They’ve long been at the forefront of proactive community health and are early and loyal advocates and adopters of IMPACT’s sunscreen dispenser program. Check out this article written by Emerson physician, Linda Brown MD entitled, Important Tips for Sunscreen Season.
Emerson provides advanced medical services to more than 300,000 people in 25 towns. They’re a 179-bed hospital with more than 300 primary care doctors and specialists who care for everything from arrhythmias to wound care. Their core mission has always been to make high-quality health care more accessible to those who live and work in our community. To further this mission, Emerson has outpatient facilities in Westford, Groton, Sudbury and Concord.
Learn more about Emerson Hospital right here.
We’re very proud of our partnership with such a likeminded, service first organization and are ecstatic that our program continues to grow along with them.
Said Christine Gallery, senior vice president of planning and chief strategy officer at Emerson Hospital:
“Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the Emerson Hospital service area. We are proud to partner with IMPACT Melanoma and our surrounding towns to bring sunscreen dispensers to our communities for the second year. We hope to build on the success of our first year, and continue to encourage people to incorporate sunscreen into their summer safety regimen, especially as many people are enjoying the outdoors now. We encourage the community to be in touch with a physician with any questions or concerns about their skin.”
“We are very pleased that Emerson Hospital is continually committed to reducing the number of people diagnosed with skin cancer, and is working with us to ensure sunscreen is available in popular and convenient areas this summer,” said Deb Girard, IMPACT’s Executive Director.
Check out a few photos we took of the rollout installation! Thanks for having us, Emerson Hospital!
