Fort Lauderdale, Florida - On the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day, Broward Health Medical Center will dedicate a tree to COVID-19 patients and their caregivers. The tamarind tree is a gift from the Moringa Garden Circle and Fort Lauderdale Garden Circles.
The Wild Tamarind (Lysiloma Latisiliquum) is a low-maintenance tree with white, fragrant flowers blooming from spring to fall. It’s popular with butterflies and will enhance the entrance to the hospital, which offers advanced and lifesaving care.
The "COVID-19 Memorial Tree of Life" dedication will happen at 10 a.m., Friday, April 29, on the lawn outside the main entrance of the Fort Lauderdale hospital. The Wild Tamarind will sit near another tree donated in March of 2021 in honor of those impacted by COVID-19.
"The Moringa Garden Circle, as part of The Fort Lauderdale Garden Clubs, Inc., has a 95-year history of promoting healing through planting in the City of Fort Lauderdale,” said Jennifer Berne, vice president of the Moringa Garden Circle." Moringa Garden Circle is proud to partner with Broward Health in gratefully acknowledging our brave healthcare workers who put their lives on the line to protect the community during the COVID-19 pandemic and the lives of those we lost,” she said.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis will offer an Arbor Day proclamation, and remarks of gratitude will be shared by Jennifer Berne, vice president of the Moringa Garden Circle; Rose Béchard-Butman, chair of Moringa Garden Circle Memorial Tree; Heather Havericak, CEO, Broward Health Medical Center and Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital; Sunil Kumar, M.D., critical care and pulmonary physician, Broward Health Medical Center; and Kimberly Pearson, parks manager for Fort Lauderdale.
"We are fortunate to have community partners like the Moringa and the Fort Lauderdale Garden Circles that recognize the unwavering commitment of our caregivers," said Havericak. "This tree will also be a fitting reminder for years to come of the patients who succumbed to COVID-19 and the resiliency of our nurses, physicians, team members and community."
Broward Health, founded in 1938 and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ranks among the 10 largest public healthcare systems in the United States. Nationally recognized for its focus on high-quality care for the residents of Broward County and beyond, Broward Health boasts five hospitals, two trauma centers, a dynamic academic partnership with Florida Atlantic University, was the county’s first statutory teaching hospital and has an ever-growing graduate medical education program. It includes more than 50 health centers and physician practices covering virtually every healthcare specialty.
Broward Health never stops working toward its mission of Exceptional Care, Extraordinary Compassion and Everyday Excellence. Driven by more than 11,000 talented employees and physicians who deliver care to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay, Broward Health is one of the largest employers in Broward County with an operating budget of $1.6 billion, and annually provides more than $522.6 million of charity and uncompensated care.
For more information about Broward Health, visit BrowardHealth.org.