JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – When the group Alabama heard about Johnson City Medical Center’s “Thank Your Angel” wall, inspired by their song “Angels Among Us,” the band leader Randy Owen decided to pick up the phone and call interim hospital CEO Kenny Shafer with a message of encouragement for the hospital’s team members.
“He told me he’s always been a great admirer of medicine and wanted to offer blessings and encouragement to the team here,” Kenny said about the call from Randy Owen, the famous band’s lead singer. “He went on about how special that song is to him and how every time he sings it, he struggles to get through it. We spoke for 10 to 15 minutes.”
To say Owen has been a great admirer of medicine is an understatement. The country music star is the founder of Country Cares for St. Jude Kids, an organization he started more than 30 years ago to raise money to treat patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and to research cures. Annual radiothons bring dozens of country music stars together for radiothons and events, raising more than $900,000 in the last three decades.
While brushing up on some of Alabama’s greatest tunes on YouTube before the band’s recent concert in Bristol, Kenny came across “Angels Among Us.” The lyrics spoke to him and made him think about the team members at Johnson City Medical Center. It’s also a song Owen is known for singing to patients, caregivers and donors at fundraiser events in Memphis. In addition, the Randy Owen Angels Among Us award is presented each year to someone who passionately exhibits the mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“The song also made me think about my dad who passed several months ago after battling cancer,” Kenny said. “He practiced medicine for nearly 40 years and always put his patients before himself, and more often than not, ahead of his family. It was the team at this hospital who cared for him in his final days. They cared for him with compassion, empathy and like a family member.”
The “Thank Your Angel” wall on the windows outside the hospital cafeteria features images of angels painted by team member Jennifer Bledsoe and contains messages of thanks and encouragement from Johnson City Medical Center and Niswonger Children’s Hospital team members to each other.
“This is a wall for each of us to recognize who our angels are,” Kenny said. “It’s for those who have helped us at low points in our lives, been there for us in times of high stress or even at our side when someone we loved passed.
“If someone comes to mind, please go down there and write a note about them. Acknowledging someone special to you in this manner is more important than ever. Despite the fact our community may be conflicted about the pandemic and the state of healthcare, you show up every day with nothing but love to give, my angels are all of you.
“It’s nice to know that the work you are doing is being noticed and touching the lives of so many people. Even famous ones!”
Hear the Alabama song that inspired Johnson City Medical Center’s “Thank Your Angel” wall, “Angels Among Us.”
