WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – R. Duncan Hite, M.D., is one of only 10 national and international recipients of a Humanitarian Recognition Award from the Chest Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). The $5,000 awards are given to organizations supported by the award recipients, who volunteer their time and expertise to improve the health of communities and people in need worldwide.
Hite was recognized for his work with the Hospital Hospitality House of Winston-Salem project, an effort to create a 24-room facility that will provide affordable lodging, food, and support to families of patients at both Wake Forest Baptist and Forsyth medical centers. Plans for the next five to 10 years are to expand the facility to 48 beds. Hite, director of medical intensive care and critical care research in the Department of Internal Medicine-Pulmonary Critical Care, serves on the project’s board of directors.
“Duncan has been a fantastic resource in moving this project forward,” said Beth Baldwin, who co-chairs the Hospitality House project along with her husband, Sandy. “He has been very generous with his time, knowledge, experience and resources. The invaluable contribution of all board and committee members and others in the community will ensure the successful development of this much-needed facility.” The project’s board of directors includes representatives of both medical centers and the community at large.
Plans are to build the Hospitality House facility in 2008-2009. It will serve families and caregivers of adult inpatients as well as adult outpatients and their caregivers who are in Winston-Salem for prolonged treatment. All guests will be from outside Forsyth County and will be referred by the hospitals. The Hospitality House will be owned and managed by a non-profit corporation.
The Chest Foundation Humanitarian Recognition Awards Program encourages volunteer service by ACCP members to improve the health of individuals and communities through advocacy, direct patient care, and patient education activities. The ACCP represents 16,500 members who provide clinical respiratory, critical care, sleep, and cardiothoracic patient care throughout the world.
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Media Contacts: Mark Wright, mwright@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-3382; Beth or Sandy Baldwin, (336) 724-0665.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,187 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.