Patient First‘s commitment to the community goes beyond providing convenient, cost-effective health care. Patient First also supports numerous organizations that make a positive impact in our local neighborhoods and across the mid-Atlantic.
See what Patient First is doing in the community.
We have participated in Just Between Friends (JBF) consignment events in both the Collegeville and Wyomissing areas during the past several years. Following one of those recent events, another JBF event being set up on the campus of beautiful Haverford College in Delaware County, PA reached out to us and invited our participation in their event. Our schedule was clear, se we jumped at the opportunity to join for a day of this multi-day super sale.
This organization's events always draw big crowds of shoppers who know where to find great bargains, and this event was no exception. Organizers told us they had more than 100,000 items for sale at this particular events. People from all over the region came out to do some serious power shopping for their families. Although the audience was mostly young moms with children, or expectant moms, we saw plenty of dads, grandparents and others, too. It was a buyer's paradise with all kinds of things available for purchase at deep discounts, too. Children's clothing, shoes, games and toys, puzzles, books strollers, furniture and so much more flew out the door at people enthusiastically searched for their treasures.
The event ran like clockwork thanks to a very organized event leader and her scores of volunteer support staff. We were so happy to be part of an event that drew people from such a large area. Although most event-goers were closest to our Patient First centers in Springfield and Devon, PA, many others came from Philadelphia and communities around the city, and even several from South Jersey. We are hoping for an invitation to return to future events since we know this is the type of activity that attracts participants who are very interested in great deals, great service and exactly the type of care we provide at our Patient First locations when people are ill or injured and need care.
The mission of Laurel House is to advocate for and empower those impacted by domestic violence by providing crisis intervention, safe haven, supportive programs and resources. They also aim to advance social change through preventive education, community training and the collaboration to provide a coordinated response to domestic abuse. Several years ago the organization tapped Patient First for support, and we have been happy to engage in a variety of their activities as a sponsor ever since that initial connection. We are happy to support an organization like this that provides supportive services to individuals, families and communities throughout Montgomery County, PA.
We participated in the organization's 2024 "Walk A Mile In Her Shoes" event, and had such a great day with the hundreds of individuals, groups and organizations who came out to join the fun. Each year at this event men are literally asked to walk a mile in women's high-heeled shoes to actively confront gender stereotypes and expectation in a playful way. This year Pfizer's Collegeville, PA Campus staged the walk, and popular Philadelphia disc jockey Preston Elliott from WMMR's Preston and Steve radio show returned to emcee the event.
Hundreds of men (women and families, too) signed up to raise awareness about this important cause. They came from all walks of life, too, which was remarkable. Participants included Assistant District Attorneys, firefighters, veterans, law enforcement officers, corporate executives, students and many more. The solidarity in raising awareness of domestic violence brought so many people together, and at the end of the day more than $50,000 was raise to support the good work Laurel House does to serve the community. We are happy to have been a part of walking a mile in her shoes again this year, and we look forward to many more opportunities to be supportive of the powerful and important mission of this organization in the future.
We enjoy partnering with many sports organizations, but each year the Little League sponsorships near our centers always seem to catch a special place in our hearts.
There's nothing quite like hearing or even singing "Take me out to the ball game," and it is even more special for us when we are at a game and see our Patient First name on team jerseys, or our banner hung at ball parks.
This year we were excited to be invited to participate in Opening Day activities for the Cherry Hill American Little League in New Jersey. And, what a great day we had! We have been a sponsor for many years, but this was the first time we had the opportunity to join everyone on site for the Opening Day festivities.
One of the day's highlights was meeting the Coach of "our" Patient First team, along with several of our team players, their moms, their dads, and their families. They were all so happy to see us, and thankful for our sponsorship support.
If it had just have been about 20 degrees warmer and without wind, our day could have been called perfect. But blue skies and bright sunshine prevailed, making it a beautiful day to be among the hundreds of people who came out to cheer on their teams.
Cherry Hill's team (the bigger boys) won the National Championship last year, and they were honored by having the whole team out to join the festivities. It was great inspiration for the younger players to look up to the older athletes. It's the local Little League where the national winners got their start!
Hats off to the Lehigh Valley's IronPigs ball club for organizing and hosting "Operation Send A Vet" on Opening Day, March 29, 2024. For the third consecutive year, Patient First was able to participate in this amazing "thank you" event by hosting 100 veterans and their families at the ball game. Several other local organizations joined in and collectively more than 1,300 veterans enjoyed a night out at the ball game. The frosting on the cake was an IronPigs win on this special night. We take pride in events and activities that help male and female veterans whether active duty or retired, in the Reserves or in the National Guard. It was heartwarming for us to meet so many vets during our evening at the ballpark. Even though Mother Nature wasn't very kind to us and delivered a bitterly cold evening, we all had a great time being on site again for this amazing event. What was extra special for us was meeting so many veterans personally. Many came by for a complimentary blood pressure check which we offered, or for some of our great give-away items. Others just stopped by to say "thank you" for the part we played in bringing them to the ballpark.
This event was designed to say "thanks for your service" to our military personnel, and it did just that. It was a home run for Patient First, and for all others who participated to make the experience so special. One of our event support staff even got a kick out of tossing out a "first pitch" at the game.
Although Coca-Cola Park where the IronPigs play is in Allentown, home games there attract people from all over the Lehigh Valley including Bethlehem and Easton where we also have Patient First locations in additional to Allentown. Many folks travel in to enjoy ball games there from all over the region.
We are already looking forward to an opportunity to return to Coca-Cola Park and join our IronPigs friends for other opportunities in the future.
It was an "All things Irish" weekend in Allentown during St. Patrick's weekend. We kicked things off by participating in the annual Irish Cultural Community Day on Saturday, and wrapped things up by strutting our stuff in the St. Patrick's Day parade through Allentown's West End on Sunday. We have enjoyed a long-time relationship with organizers of both events, and it was great to be back again this year.
Both events are provided to the community at no cost each year, which surely helps attract large attendance. That, combined with Mother Nature's kindness in delivering two great weekend weather days this year helped turn the events into blockbusters.
This year's Parade was extra fun. It featured us, of course, along with 10 pipe bands, eight divisions, and more than 2,000 marchers from organizations, schools, companies and community groups from through the greater Lehigh Valley area and beyond.
Event organizers are outstanding, and always make sure participants and crowds alike have a lot of fun to enjoy the Irish cultural heritages being celebrated. Putting things together is literally a year-round labor of love from a group of highly engaged and dedicated volunteers-- many who have been involved with these events for years. We were so happy to be invited to return, and we already look forward to our return in 2025!
Each year since 2017, one of our first events of the new year has been in the Lehigh Valley. This year was no exception. Patient First was delighted to return as a sponsor for "Super Sunday" at the Jewish Community Center in Allentown, PA. This community center is just a two-minute drive from our Allentown center, so the relationship we have established over the years has been a great one for all involved.
The facility is fantastic! They run a full-service community center with a gym, a pool, a pre-school and all sorts of family friendly and educational opportunities for all ages. The center is open year-round, and provides a valuable service to Allentown's "West End" community, as well as folks from across the Lehigh Valley. Everyone is welcome!
The Super Sunday event attracted hundreds of adults, children and families who participated in a day full of activities, and each had an opportunity to visit with our Patient First staff. Event organizers set us up in a prime location just inside the front doors. We literally got to interact with everyone who walked through the doors during the day. This year, in addition to the planned "Super Sunday" activities, they also hosted a basketball event in their gym, which attracted people from all over, boosting attendance.
We provided complimentary blood pressure checks for adults, and we kept everyone amused with our give-away items. Our yo-yos and balsa wood airplanes were particularly popular with both children and adults.
As we wrapped up event day, we were so pleased that we had the opportunity to interact with so many people who are big fans of Patient First. Many told up about their positive experiences at our Allentown and Bethlehem centers, in particular. We are already excited about returning to this event again next year!
As 2023 drew to a close, we were happy to return to Bethlehem, PA to join in the fun of the annual PEEPsFest event there. This two-day New Year's eve festival provided lots of fun things for families and children to enjoy all day prior to the event culmination -- the PEEPs "Chick Drop." We were especially happy the event was "hybrid" this year, offering so much activity both indoors and outdoors. Both locations were packed full of people, all out to have a fun time.
Just Born Quality Confections of Bethlehem partnered with the ArtsQuest organization at SteelStacks to once again bring this blockbuster event to the Lehigh Valley. This year both days were sold out, which indicates how popular it has become over the years, drawing some 3,000 participants each day.
We have enjoyed participating in this event several times over the years, and were sad when it was paused, and then was held exclusively outdoors during the pandemic. Things returned to normal this year, and there's no doubt it became the largest attended event in its history.
It was such a good feeling to be back on site for this annual event, and to enjoy so many conversations with people who have had great experiences in all three of our Lehigh Valley Patient First locations and beyond, when they were sick or injured. We also helped a lot of new people learn more about what we do at Patient First when they stopped by our table for a complimentary blood pressure check, and to pick up a variety of fun give-away items. Is it too soon to be excited for New Year's eve activities for 2024? This is a must-attend event for families, but there's a lesson learned after this year. Order your tickets early, or you'll be out in the cold with another sold out event in 2024!
We love participating at events at Bethlehem's Hanover Township Community Center, since it is located literally right down the street from our Bethlehem center. Once again we were invited to join their annual tree lighting and holiday event, and we were delighted to return. Mother Nature was not kind on event day, and brought us rainy conditions all day. Event organizers successfully pivoted, however, and brought most of the event indoors. We didn't complain since it allowed us to stay toasty warm inside and not be outdoors in the cold, wet weather.
Each year this free event attracts hundreds of folks from the neighborhood and beyond, and this year was no exception. The lobby of the Community Center was packed full of people before the event even began. This year participants enjoyed so many fun, family-friendly activities, including cookie decorating, an ice carving demonstration, an indoor snowball battle, and event photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. There was even free food and beverages, and a local middle school band to set the holiday spirit. It was such a fun time for us, and a great evening out for families from the community!
Patient First has been a long-time sponsor and supporter of this community center over the years, and we have enjoyed a great relationship with the staff and volunteers who help make things happen there. We jump at the opportunity to join events there since everyone is so nice to work with, and the community appreciates having a Patient First in their neighborhood. We were thrilled to receive so many thanks and compliments from the locals who have supported us over the years. We look forward to joining more activities there in 2024!
We love being part of Bethlehem's Christkindlmarkt each year, and every year it seems to get bigger and better, if that is even possible. We were on site on Saturday, November 18 for Opening Weekend and the kickoff of the event's 31st anniversary.
The staff who puts this enormous event together is second to none, and it is always a pleasure to work with them. A host of volunteers are on site to ensure everyone has an amazing experience.
Although temperatures are chilly this time of year, we don't mind, since we always enjoy a steady flow of foot traffic while we are there from morning until night. This year we had many great conversations with folks who have visited our Lehigh Valley centers, plus others throughout eastern Pennsylvania, central Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. It was great to hear all of their positive comments about Patient First. We were particularly delighted to talk with a bus load of folks who traveled to the event from New Jersey, many of whom had visited our South Jersey centers, and had positive experiences with our providers and staff there.
Christkindlmarkt is a "must attend" even that continues weekends until Christmas. It features lots of holiday attractions like ice carving, decorations of all sorts, holiday trees and jumbo ornaments and of course, lots of shopping for thousands of gift items.
Huge tents are set up on campus to showcase traditional artisans and vendors.
A nice surprise for us this year was a visit from Miss Pennsylvania Miranda Moore, who will compete for the title of Miss America in January 2024 in Florida.
The event has been named one of the top holiday markets in the world by Travel + Leisure, and one of the top holiday markets in North America by USA TODAY. We look forward to returning again in 2024!
Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, PA hosts its "Boo at the Zoo" celebration every weekend in October, and for years Patient First has been part of the fun. We always choose to participate on the Saturday nearest to Halloween when excitement is high and costumes are ready to be strutted and shown off. This year was no exception, and every year this event seems to grow larger and larger. Kudos to Zoo staff for completely transforming then environment into a kooky and spooky environment for all to enjoy.
People were encouraged to bring their little ghouls and ghosts to the event, and that is exactly what they did.
This year's crowd was enormous, most likely because Mother Nature was extremely kind to us this year and gave us a summer-like day with temperatures in the mid-80's. It couldn't have been more perfect. We got such a kick out of the steady stream of costumed children, parents and grandparents and families as they visited with us and picked up a variety of our promotional items. Our staff got into the spirit as well and donned their own costumes. The energy and excitement of all who came by our ten was electrifying.
We love being part of activities at this great neighborhood zoo, and we are amazed each year at how much things change there and how they continue to grow. It is such a fun place, and many folks find it to be a great alternative to the larger and more costly zoos in the area. Families of all ages just love their visits to this location. And the Boo at the Zoo is always one of our favorite community activities each year. We had a great time this year, and can hardly wait to find out what is in store there in 2024!