June 19, 2020

This is Hudson (10), Noah (11), Audrey (7) and Elise (7). In May, these four young siblings from the Dundas-based Francis family sudsed up their neighbourhood’s cars in support of St. Joe’s.  The four youngsters wanted to do something to raise funds for what they call “Grandma’s hospital” — the Hospital where their Grandma, Kelly Yungblut, works as a Registered Nurse.

Kelly works in the Hemodialysis Program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s King Campus. When we asked Kelly about her grandchildren’s car wash fundraiser, she said, “My daughter Jayme and her husband Tim have done such a great job instilling a sense of gratitude and giving back in their young family. The kids came up with the fundraising idea all on their own and I’m really proud of them. I’m touched that they thought to do this for St. Joe’s.”
Like many families, during the pandemic, Kelly has only seen her daughter, son-in-law and grandkids during physically-distant visits in the driveway—not only to protect each other, but also to protect the immunocompromised, vulnerable population that Kelly cares for in the Dialysis Unit.

“Our patients come to the King Campus several times each week for their life-sustaining treatments and we really get to know and care about these individuals. They rely on us to provide safe and professional care every time, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” explains Kelly. “We have an increased responsibility during these challenging times, and we take it very seriously. Having proper fitting, readily available PPE is an essential part of our day-to-day requirements for providing that safe and professional care our patients can and should expect from our team.”

By washing cars for a day, the Francis family raised $100 that has since been donated to St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation. As requested by the kids, the funds will be used to help the Hospital purchase PPE (personal protective equipment) like masks, gowns, gloves and face shields.

Kelly finds it remarkable that her grandchildren had the knowledge and understanding of how important PPE is to the Hospital, but we chalk it up to the fact that they probably just wanted to help keep their Grandma, her colleagues, and the patients they care for, safe.