THE MOTHER'S DAY OFFERING APPROPRIATIONS
The Mother's Day Offering concept is almost as old as the hospital. According to a hospital history, the fund got its start in 1924 when G.T. Lumpkin, the first hospital superintendent, and his wife came up with the idea of people giving a special offering for the hospital in honor of other mothers.
The Baptist State Convention approved the idea and the hospital received $16,000 from the first Mother's Day offering. According to the history, "Many pastors and Sunday School workers came from all over North Carolina with the offerings just as they were received and poured them out on Mr. Lumpkin's desk - pennies, nickels, dimes, and some folding money."
The offering became an annual event in Baptist churches with the proceeds designated for benevolent care. Every dollar of Mother's Day Offering gifts from North Carolina Baptist churches and from individual donations is used to pay on hospital bills of patients who have no other means of meeting this financial burden.
In 1971 the North Carolina Baptist State Convention appointed a special "Committee of 15" to make a detailed study of the relationship between Baptist Hospital and the North Carolina Baptist State Convention in the specific area of the financial support, solicited by the hospital and approved by the convention for indigent care.
The Mother's Day Appropriations Committee, consisting of five members (Baptist ministers and laymen) was appointed by the trustees. For the first two years the committee met monthly in order to gain an understanding of the hospital poliicies and to determine their role. After the Committee felt firmly established, the meetings were set on a quarterly schedule.
Guidelines for administering the Mother's Day Fund to patients were set up at those first meetings. The only criterion is need. Briefly, the plan works as follows: In-patient cases are brought to the Committee's attention for consideration by the: (a) Director and Manager of the Billing and Collections; (b) Manager of Financial Counseling; (c) Director of Church & Community Relations; and (d) Vice President of Pastoral Care. In some instances individuals and or ministers might request that a patient be considered for benevolent assistance. The financial counselors and collection clerks study the thorough financial statement which has been obtained on each patient to be considered. Each case brought before the committee is discussed individually considering: why the need, efforts made to collect account; response to efforts; also, information if assistance has been requested by family, minister, physician, etc. The cases are discussed carefully and a decision is made by a motion to approve or deny the appropriation.
Prior to the meeting the screened cases are referred to the Vice President of Pastoral Care and the Director of Church & Community Relations for their review and copies of each case to be presented at the meeting are mailed to the committee members. This gives each member an opportunity to review the situations before coming to the meeting. In some instances where there is an emergency need, a joint pre-approval might be given by the Director of Church & Community Relations and the Chairman of the Benevolent Appropriations Committee.
The Secretary of the Benevolent Appropriations Committee, who is also the Administrative Assistant in the Department of Church & Community Relations, keeps complete records on each case. A letter is mailed or hand delivered to each recipient or family indicating the amount of assistance given. The letter states the source of the assistance as the churches of North Carolina Baptist State Convention and the Christian concern of the churches for the patient. A copy of each letter with accompanying records is filed in the Department of Church & Community Relations.
To find out more information concerning the Mother's Day offering, you may contact the department either by mail or telephone. Our phone number is (336) 716-3027. Our mailing address is:
| Paul Mullen, Director |
| Church and Community Relations |
| The NC Baptist Hospitals, Inc. |
| Medical Center Boulevard |
| Winston-Salem, NC 27157 |