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MUSC Families First East Cooper clinic leading way in sharing spirit by Cindy Abole Public Relations Carolina Family Care employees are doing their part to usher in the holiday spirit to needy families and individuals through MUSC Families First Angel Tree project. Carolina Family Care consists of four internal medicine practice facilities and two pediatric offices throughout the Charleston area, plus family practice site on Kiawah Island. East Cooper clinic's Lori Stanley, from left, assists Merle Blitch and Karen Wilcox in hanging angels on their Christmas tree. The project was initiated by Carolina Family Care network director Melissa Altman. After discovering that the joint MUSC and Salvation Army project was coordinated to assist people in the Lowcountry community, they were eager to share in the campuswide effort. “This was an easy idea to support,” said Lori Stanley, a pediatric certified medical assistant at the East Cooper office. They support pediatric and internal medicine patients. “Anything that involves children is something we readily like to help out with.” The East Cooper group obtained 60 angel tags, 30 for each of the clinic staffs, to hang on their shared office tree. Each angel contains the name of a client, age and gender. Participants are asked to take an angel and provide a gift in return prior to Dec. 17.  “Our Carolina Family Care groups are generally a giving group of people,” said Altman of the 90 physicians, nurses, referral and clinical/administrative staffs. “Every day our staffs come in contact with people who are in real need. It’s not awkward for any of us to want to help. Our challenge is to identify people and assess their day-to-day needs by steering them to stronger community resources or other programs that will help them in the long run.”  “We wanted to place the tree and angels in a location for everyone to see,” said Barbara Racioppa, East Cooper site manager. “Sometimes patients stop me and ask about the angels. Several patients and their families have taken angels as a sign of their support for the project.” Like many participating hospital departments and clinical teams, the action of helping and service to others go hand-in-hand with the holidays. For the pediatric staff, joining in this holiday project was simple. “All of us are proud to support this project,” Racioppa said. “It shows that despite people’s cir-cumstances others in the community do care.” For the first time, the MUSC Families First Angel Tree project offers employees and their families support and assistance to those who are in need. The project works closely with the Salvation Army to identify needy families that’s conducted in a respectful and confidential manner. The Families First angels have already been distributed around the medical center and some off-campus clinics. Participants are asked to bring their “angel presents” to the Dec. 17 gift collection and holiday celebration between 1-2 p.m., MUSC horseshoe.  For information about obtaining angels, coordinating present pick-up or MUSC Families First, call Elizabeth Nista, 792-8382 or e-mail nistal@musc.edu.     Friday, Dec. 3, 2004 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.