BEECH GROVE, Ind. – An Army veteran met with St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers leaders and conveyed her fellow soldiers’ appreciation to hospital employees who donated DVD movies to her unit last spring.Staff Sgt. Andrea Cowden met Aug. 12 with St. Francis President and CEO Robert J. Brody and Sister Marlene Shapley, vice president of mission services and presented the hospital with a certificate of appreciation and an American flag flown over her unit, the Indianapolis-based 55th Medical Company.
GRATEFUL SERVICE: From left, Staff Sgt. Cowden, Sister Marlene, Bob Brody and Jim Poole
“I want to express just how much your donations and thoughtfulness meant to members of my unit,” said Cowden, a reservist who is serving her second tour of duty in Iraq. “We are so honored to have your support.”
Cowden is the daughter of Kathleen Cowden, a staff dietitian at St. Francis Hospital-Beech Grove, who along with Jim Poole, Senior Promise director at St. Francis, coordinated a drive among hospital employees to donate 200 new DVDs for Sgt. Cowden and her fellow troops.
“We’re very proud of you and all members of the military who serve our country so bravely in Iraq and elsewhere,” said Brody, who pledged St. Francis’ future support. ”We will never forget you.”
Cowden, a mental health specialist, is home on leave from Camp Liberty. It was the site of an incident last spring where a solider is alleged to have killed five American troops at the installation.
