Earlier this year, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health nurse, Barbara Schmidt, BSN, RNC-MNN, Women & Babies Hospital Couplet Care, had an idea that would connect LG Health nurses to the community and allow local kids to learn about and thank the health care heroes serving them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her idea was to create a pen pal program where nurses from across LG Health could exchange letters with students from George Washington Elementary, a local Lancaster County school. In February, Schmidt emailed nurses across LG Health and received an overwhelming response – ultimately, 54 registered nurses were paired with 54 student Pigeon Pals; students participating were from two fifth-grade classes and one second-grade class.
Each nurse wrote four letters to their specific student, one for February, March, April, and May. These letters were then dropped in decorated red mailboxes, one at Lancaster General Hospital and one at Women’s & Babies Hospital, for delivery.
Schmidt and Phoebe Radcliffe, community director, George Washington Elementary, worked together as “passenger pigeons” to transport letters between the nurses at the hospitals and students at the school.
Some LG Health nurses even put stickers, colored pencils, and other small gifts in their letters. The students enjoyed getting their letters so much that one teacher said receiving the letters “was like Christmas to the kids.”
At the end of the school year, Schmidt and Radcliffe gifted zinnias to the teachers at George Washington Elementary to thank them for supporting the program. Students were also given a notebook and pencil to encourage them to keep writing over the summer.