Representatives from the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center, UNC Health Foundation and North Carolina’s electric cooperatives recently gathered in Raleigh to present $148,000 in support of cutting-edge treatments and world-class care for burn victims and survivors in North Carolina.
Representatives from the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center, UNC Health Foundation and North Carolina’s electric cooperatives gather to recognize support from electric co-ops and industry partners for burn victims and survivors.
With the support of industry partners from across the state, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives hosted a golf tournament to raise the funds for the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. The tournament, an annual tradition that began in 1999, represents a decades-long partnership between the two organizations.
“North Carolina’s electric cooperatives are one of our main supporters, and there are quite a few initiatives we wouldn’t be able to put forward without their continued support,” said Dr. Booker T. King, director of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center. “For one, through electric co-op donations we were able to fund a fellow dedicated to clinical research. She’s analyzing data from the Burn Center to better understand effective treatments in burn care.”
Funding also allowed staff to attend conferences and contributed to the integration of new technologies and telemedicine at the hospital. In 2021, the Burn Center treated 1,300 patients with varying levels of need from critical care to aftercare.
“North Carolina’s electric cooperatives feel honored to provide financial support to the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center to help serve the needs of patients and their families,” said Winston Howell, CEO of Edgecombe-Martin County EMC and the co-ops’ representative to the Burn Center. “The Center is one of the largest and most comprehensive burn centers in the world, and we applaud their team for their dedication to patient care.”
Dr. Booker T. King, director of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center, accepts a contribution raised by electric co-ops and industry partners from Winston Howell, CEO of Edgecombe-Martin County EMC (right).
North Carolina’s electric cooperatives have been a proud partner of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals since 1972, when the cooperatives’ board of directors pledged $40,000 to help create the center. Since then, the co-ops have contributed more than $2.4 million in support of youth burn prevention and education outreach programs, improvements in the pediatric playroom, research for wound care and healing processes and other projects.
“We appreciate all of our industry partners that step up annually to help support such a worthy cause,” Howell said. “Your continued support allows the Burn Center to save lives and provide important inpatient, outpatient and aftercare that is critical to the physical and mental well-being of burn patients.”