The Franciscan Health Hammond Emergency Department Serenity Room has been rededicated in memory of a patient who was both born at the hospital and died there last year.
Tina Flynn provided the gift to refurnish the room as a memorial to her late husband, Gerald Kray, who passed away in August 2020 after a battle with cancer. Tina was grateful for the compassionate care Gerald received in the Emergency Department. Tina had also been a patient in the Hammond Emergency Department and as a former nurse, said she was impressed by the care provided by the physicians and nurses at Franciscan Health Hammond.
She was inspired to make the donation after thinking back to her experience sitting in the Serenity Room with one of her daughters after Gerald’s passing. Her gift enabled the purchase of furnishings and décor to provide comfortable seating and a warmer, more spiritual feel to the space. A blessing and dedication ceremony were held on Nov. 18.
“No one wants to be asked to wait in the Serenity Room. Very unsettling and scary. I wanted to provide families a warm, comfortable space while waiting to hear about a loved one. My husband received wonderful, compassionate care. Dedicating the Serenity Room in his memory felt like a fitting way to give back to Franciscan and provide comfort to other families,” Tina said.
“Tina lost the love of her life in our Hammond Emergency Department in 2020. However, her generous gift is a tribute to Gerald’s memory and to the work of our clinical team’s fight to try to save him. Tina has forever cemented Gerald’s legacy inside our Hammond facility,” said Franciscan Health Foundation Executive Director Rick Peltier.