Regardless of the reason, or duration, an illness or other medical issue that requires a hospital stay can be a scary time for the patients and their families. Unable to care for themselves due to the severity of their ailment, they must rely on the kindness, knowledge, and expertise of strangers (a.k.a. medical staff) to help them fully recover. As they work together toward that shared goal, special bonds can form leading one-time strangers to become more than that, especially when that stranger is responsible for saving their life.

In many cases, except for follow-up visits to check on the patient's healing process, once the hospital stay comes to an end, there's a good chance the patients and the team who helped them heal will never see each other again.

Over the COVID pandemic, the staffs of Deaconess Midtown, Gateway, and Henderson treated nearly 3,000 individuals who contracted the virus, many forming those special bonds along the way. With vaccinations on the rise in the area, and the number of cases and hospitalizations on a steady decline, Deaconess is giving those individuals and the professionals who helped them fight the virus an opportunity to reconnect with a survivor and staff reunion on Sunday, July 25th (2021).

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The reunion will take place in two locations. Patients hospitalized at Deaconess Midtown and Gateway, will have the chance to reunite with their medical team at Bosse Field from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. that day, while patients hospitalized at Deaconess Henderson will have their opportunity to do so in the lower parking lot of their campus from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Advance registration is required for both locations and can be done through the hospital's reunion website. You and anyone attending with you must be vaccinated to attend and will be required to show proof of vaccination at the gate. This can be done by presenting your vaccination card, or by showing a vaccination confirmation e-mail from your state's health department.

If you have not yet been vaccinated and would like to set up an appointment, visit ourshot.in.gov if you live in Indiana, or vaccines.ky.gov if you live in Kentucky.

[Source: Deaconess Hospital Press Release]

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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