There are a variety of ways to help patients in need.

The Angel Garden at the Cookeville City Cemetery is a place to honor, remember, and grieve children who pass away in the early stages of life.

You can help. A gift of $250 will enable the Foundation to properly honor and bury one infant at the Angel Garden. A gift of $2,500 should sponsor all burial related needs for one year. Any gift you can provide will help us to provide a compassionate, honorable space for these children to rest and for families to mourn.

It is difficult to imagine, but a few times each year, the remains of premature, stillborn or even short-lived infants become the responsibility of Cookeville Regional Medical Center to care for. Sometimes families simply cannot afford burial; other times, they struggle to process the emotions of having lost a child. Remains are cremated and placed into handcrafted wooden caskets donated by local artists.

Markers are placed on the site of each grave, and a large communal headstone reads:

“Here we rest. The hands not held, the silenced cries, the dreams unfulfilled. Though our lives were brief, love eternal is given us not for great deeds or the number of our days, but just by being. We were here. Living creatures. Children. We were a part of this world and dwell now in the hearts of those we left behind. For our mothers, fathers and families who must hold hope within and walk through this life without us; we ask for peace, comfort and strength. Here we rest, together, and peacefully wait for a reunion beyond pain, fear and doubt; in the world that is to come.”

–The Children of the Angel Garden

Sponsor. Donate. Create. Inspire. Heal.

Art for Healing at Cookeville Regional Medical Center was championed by the late Sally Crain-Jager, who inspired, educated and befriended a generation of artists and art lovers in our community. Art promotes a more healing and calming environment for patients and visitors.

We now feature nearly 100 pieces of art in the permanent collection at Cookeville Regional. Our collection contains the works of professional regional artists, art faculty and Appalachian Center for Craft residents, as well as pieces from the Cumberland Art Society.

Your donation allows us to acquire art, construct display casings, install sound panels featuring art, and fund special projects like murals. You will help provide solace to those waiting for information on the condition of a loved one; an uplifting moment in the day for medical staff; and a calm, healing environment for patients.

Artwork must be approved by our acquisition committee and meet selection criteria designed to positively impact patient care.

Families have enough to worry about while someone they love is at the hospital. We have you covered.

Traveling carts filled with items and information that families may need if they are staying in the hospital for an extended stay. Items including dry shampoo, hygiene products, denture cream, chapstick, nail clippers, phone chargers, and documents about community services.

People often ask what they can do for friends while they have family at the hospital. This is the answer. You, or your company, can sponsor one of these incredible carts.

What happens when this great staff needs help?

• Nurses, doctors and hospital staff are asked to sacrifice daily in the name of patient care. When they are the ones that need help we pull together as a hospital family, as a community, and help. Employee assistance is available to CRMC and city employees facing emergencies of any type.

Employee education funds

• The Nurse Education Fund provides scholarships of $1,500 to help established employees currently enrolled in a nursing program that leads to an RN or BSN licensure.
• A limited number of training and education scholarships are awarded through the Foundation annually. These may be used for approved conference registration or other training activities associated with an employee’s area of care.

There are several gardens on campus meant to inspire and remember.

In addition to ongoing grounds improvements that beautify Cookeville Regional Medical Center’s campus, the Foundation has established three gardens.

The Cancer Center Healing Garden is viewable from windows inside the infusion suite within the Cancer Center. The beautifully maintained garden brings hope and peace to hundreds of patients dealing with a cancer diagnosis each year.

The Breast Center, just outside the Outpatient Imaging Center entrance, features a garden that includes many roses and hydrangeas.

Finally, the Memorial Garden and Path sits between the main Cookeville Regional entrance and the Cancer Center entrance. The Memorial Path includes brick pavers that may be customized to honor a loved one.

Donations can be made to sponsor trees, bushes, benches or an entire garden. These gifts can honor a loved one.

Music has the power to uplift, inspire and calm and can be a great aid to the healing process. The Healing Notes Program encourages performances by established local musicians and choirs in Cookeville Regional’s lobby and Cancer Center.

The lobby includes a baby grand piano, and performances there are live streamed to all patient rooms on channel 85. Many local pianists perform on a recurring basis, though strings and woodwinds are also encouraged.

If you are interested in performing please contact the Foundation or 931-783-2003.

Your gift helps our furry friends continue visiting patients and staff at Cookeville Regional.

In just a few minutes, our pet therapy team can change a patient’s whole outlook, replacing frowns with smiles and giving patients a new friend to look forward to seeing again soon. Pet therapy helps patients recover from or better cope with health problems. Pet Therapy actively visits with patients and staff in the cancer center, vascular center and patient floor areas at Cookeville Regional.

Additionally, pet therapy volunteers encourage donations to the Harvey Fund, which supports veterans in post-secondary education who rely upon a therapy or service animal at school.

For more information about the Pet Therapy Program, please call volunteer services at: 931-783-2740.

Breast cancer affects women of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds.

According to cancer.gov, “Some screening tests have been shown to be helpful both in finding cancers early and in decreasing the chance of dying from those cancers. These include mammograms for breast cancer and sigmoidoscopy and fecal occult blood testing for colorectal cancer.”

Fortunately, doctors believe that thousands of lives will be saved through early detection of breast cancer via mammography, because breast cancers found during these screening exams are more likely to be small and still confined to the breast.

Unfortunately, there are many women in the Upper Cumberland who are facing difficulties receiving proper breast cancer screening due to lack of insurance. A number of them forgo mammograms completely because they simply cannot afford them.

That’s why the Pink Ribbon of Hope project exists – Catching cancer early and saving lives.