FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PARK RAPIDS, MN (July 31, 2019) – Recently, the Northwoods Riders for Colon Cancer Awareness (NRCCA) donated $3,000 to CHI St. Joseph’s Health Hospice Care through the CHI St. Joseph’s Health Foundation in memory of Chuck Burns.
The NRCCA was formed in 2012 by Chuck Burns, who passed away after a long battle with colon cancer in 2015. Chuck was inspired by a young cancer patient whom he’d read about while he was undergoing chemo therapy treatment. This young patient started a lemonade stand to raise money to help other people with cancer. As a result, Chuck thought, “If this young person can raise money to help people with cancer, I can too.” Thus, the NRCCA was established.
While on his cancer journey, Chuck became a supporter of the CHI St. Joseph’s Health Hospice Care program. One of his final wishes was to give back to hospice and provide other hospice patients and their loved ones with personal items and other immediate needs to assist in their care. All donations from the ride and fundraising event go to the “Chuck Burns Hospice Compassion Fund” to take care of local Hospice patients needs.
CHI St. Joseph’s Health Hospice Care provides comfort, dignity, and quality of life on the end-of-life journey. Patients and their loved ones decide what care and help best suits their needs. Hospice care is available for patients at their preferred place of care, whether it is their home, a care center or with their loved ones.
As of January 2019, the NRCCA has donated over $27,000 to Park Rapids and Bemidji Hospice. CHI St. Joseph’s Health Hospice Care is most grateful for this generous donation to support hospice families in need in our communities and would like to thank all riders and supporters.
The Northwoods Riders for Colon Cancer Awareness (NRCCA) organizes and hosts a motorcycle ride annually. The 7th Annual Colon Cancer Awareness Motorcycle ride will be held on September 7, 2019. NRCCA welcomes both riders, non-riders and donors. To participate in the ride or to support the event, please contact Liz Stone at 218.732.0015.
About CHI St. Joseph’s Health
CHI St. Joseph’s Health is a 25-bed critical access hospital serving communities in Hubbard, Becker, Cass and Wadena Counties since 1946. In recent years, CHI St. Joseph’s Health’s award-winning teams received several national honors including: The Joint Commission Top Performer on Key Quality Measures in surgery: Top 100 Critical Access Hospital, HealthStrong; WomenCertified’s America’s Best Hospitals Women’s Choice Award in obstetrics; and the Studer Group Fire Starter Healthcare Organization of the Month among other national, regional and state recognitions.
About CHI
Catholic Health Initiatives, a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed in 1996 through the consolidation of four Catholic health systems, expresses its mission each day by creating and nurturing healthy communities in the hundreds of sites across the nation where we provide care. The nation’s third largest nonprofit health system, Englewood, Colorado-based CHI operates in 18 states and comprises 103 hospitals, including four academic health centers and major teaching hospitals as well as 30 criticalaccess facilities; community health-services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home-health agencies; living communities; and other facilities and services that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. In fiscal year 2015, CHI provided almost $970 million in charity care and community benefit – an 8% increase over the previous year — for programs and services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. Charity care and community benefit totaled more than $1.6 billion with the inclusion of the unpaid costs of Medicare. The health system, which generated operating revenues of $15.2 billion in fiscal year 2015, has total assets of approximately $23 billion. Learn more at
www.catholichealthinitiatives.org.
Contact: Sonja Day
Communication/Marketing Manager
CHI St. Joseph’s Health
600 Pleasant Avenue
Park Rapids, MN 56470
218.616.3383