Goodwill in gloom

Even as rain sprinkled down from a gloomy, gray sky Friday morning, a couple of school playgrounds were getting brighter.

Volunteers were shoveling, cutting, hauling — even painting.

The work at Redkey Elementary School and Jay County High School was part of IU Health Jay’s Day of Service, an annual Indiana University Health community outreach program.

“One of the things that we pride ourselves in at IU Health is making sure we do things to support the community and healthy living, because it’s more than just the care that we provide in the hospital,” said Dave Hyatt, president of critical access hospitals for IU Health’s east-central region. “We want the community to be healthy and active.”

At Redkey Elementary, that meant a variety of projects to help spruce up and/or improve the playground area.

IU Health Jay volunteers were shoveling pea gravel and hauling it to fill in worn spots around swings, see-saws and slides. Others were placing colorful pavers with inspirational messages in the landscaped area along a walkway near the playground.

The biggest project of the day was the installation of a Gaga Ball pit. The game is billed as a “kinder, gentler dodgeball” that is played in an eight-sided “pit.” (Full details about the game are available at gagacenter.com.)

“What makes a big difference to me is I went to Redkey Elementary,” said IU Health Jay X-ray technologist Nylisa Davis, who was volunteering at the site. “So I wanted to be here to work. It’s nice knowing that I can help the school that I went to.”

Ten miles away at Jay County High School, another group of volunteers was working to make improvements at the preschool playground. Those included replacing wood that was deteriorating, adding a new coat of stain, installing a basketball hoop, rebuilding a bench and laying paver stones — some in a hopscotch pattern.

There will also be a new piece of equipment — playground bongo drums — though its installation will come later because of a manufacturing delay.

“It’s been a long time since anybody has done anything to our preschool playground, and it needed up keep and an upgrade,” said Lisa Lyons, who has taught preschool, child development and cadet teaching at JCHS for 35 years. “And so we were delighted when they came to us and said, ‘What can we do, and we’re going to do it for you.’”

Hyatt started looking for projects for IU Health Jay’s Day of Service shortly after the the local hospital became part of the organization on March 1. He reached out to The Portland Foundation and Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley, who provided suggestions on potential projects.

“Primarily what we’re addressing are healthy lifestyles,” said John Disher, IU Health community outreach manager for the east-central region. “And so we’re working to improve places where physical activity can take place.”

Volunteers worked in two, two-hour shifts beginning at 8:30 a.m. Friday to complete the improvements at the playgrounds. Those who were unable to attend because of their work schedules were given the opportunity to paint the pavers that were installed at each of the sites.

This is the 10th year of IU Health’s Day of Service, but it was the first that saw projects in Jay County following the integration of Jay County Hospital into the organization earlier this year. It will continue to be an annual event, with Disher noting that more than 400 employees were involved in such events in the east-central regional (Jay, Blackford and Ball Memorial hospitals).

For the employees volunteering, it was an important opportunity to show that their workplace is engaged in the community following the change in ownership.

“Just because we’re not a county-based hospital anymore doesn’t mean we don’t care about the community,” said IU Health Jay radiologic technologist Abby Theurer, taking a break from hauling pea gravel in a wheel barrow at Redkey Elementary. “IU Health still cares about the people that live here … We’re just trying to make things better.”

“It definitely speaks to the fact that IU knows that we want to keep our identity as Jay County Hospital in the community,” added IU Health Jay nurse Sara Mercer, who was also part of the Redkey Elementary volunteer team. “It’s not just about Indianapolis. They’re giving back to each of the communities that they own hospitals in.”