Hospital Week celebrated with tree planting
The oak trees planted at the Alabama Hospital Association’s campus and member hospitals symbolize the strength and protection that hospitals provide for their communities.
The Alabama Hospital Association (AlaHA) celebrated Hospital Week and the association’s 100th anniversary with a ceremonial tree planting on the association’s campus.
AlaHA President Don Williamson, M.D., Chairman Peter Selman, CEO of Baptist Medical Center South, and other members of AlaHA’s leadership were on site to plant an oak tree. Each of AlaHA’s member hospitals also received a small oak tree to plant on their campuses to recognize the unity and shared bond of hospitals statewide.
“In recognition of both Hospital Week and our 100th anniversary, we wanted to do something special that would stand the test of time,” Selman said. “We decided that planting an oak tree would symbolize the strength and protection that our hospitals provide their communities, and its canopy would symbolize the umbrella of care that our hospitals provided during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide every day in their respective communities.”
“As we celebrate a century of collaboration, it’s very appropriate that we do so during Hospital Week, a national time set aside to thank hospital employees for the tremendous work that they do,” Williamson said. “You really can’t put into words how grateful we are for what they’ve done this year in particular; I was amazed every day at the courage, dedication and innovation of our hospitals and their staff and have never been prouder to work for an organization. The men and women who serve in our hospitals are truly heroes and deserve to be honored this week.”
Founded in 1921, the Alabama Hospital Association is a statewide trade organization that assists member hospitals in effectively serving the health care needs of Alabama, through advocacy, representation, education and service.
