LOWVILLE — The Lewis County Hospital Foundation has begun a giving program designed to recognize quality care or special occasions.

The "Caring & Sharing Program" allows people to donate in appreciation of a person or department at Lewis County General Hospital or its clinics in Beaver Falls or Lyons Falls, in memory of someone or in recognition of a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary.

"It's an opportunity for people to show their gratitude and appreciation. Or for recognition," said Timothy W. O'Connor, the hospital foundation's executive director.

Caring & Sharing envelopes are available at the county-owned hospital, clinics and area funeral homes, Mr. O'Connor said.

A prospective donor can simply complete the short form on one of the envelopes, enclose the gift, put on a stamp and mail it. Donors can specify how they want their money to be spent.

Officials from the hospital and foundation have long been looking for ways to better recognize quality service by staffers, and this program should help in that regard, Mr. O'Connor said.

The idea for the program stemmed from a February letter and $2,000 donation from Nancy W. Grisham, a Turin native who now lives in Maryland, he said.

In her letter, Mrs. Grisham told of a January emergency room visit with her husband, George, for treatment of an eye condition.

She praised the pleasant demeanor of the nurses and the treatment by the doctor. "He was very thorough, and even persisted in calling George's eye specialist for additional details about his current treatment," Mrs. Grisham wrote.

"Unless you've experienced ERs in metropolitan areas, it's hard to describe the contrast between those places and the LCGH Emergency Room," she continued. "But envision 7-hour waits, overflowing waiting areas, and the feeling of being a number instead of a name."

The Grishams asked that their donation be used toward the purchase of a new tonometer for diagnosing eye pressure.

About $5,000 also has been donated in the name of the late Polly A. Finn toward establishment of a proposed dialysis center at LCGH, Mr. O'Connor said. Mrs. Finn died in March.

The foundation also continues to accept donations toward its $1.75 million capital campaign. It will help pay for the hospital's $4.4 million diagnostic imaging and emergency department expansion project that was completed last year.

Campaign donations are at about $1.13 million, Mr. O'Connor said.

"The continuing generosity of folks in our county is truly amazing," he said.