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Good Samaritan Medical Center gives nurse from Bahamas funds to help her family rebuild

Posted at 1:36 PM, Dec 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-27 17:52:16-05

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The holidays is about helping others.

A nurse at Good Samaritan Medical Center had her entire family in the Bahamas displaced by Hurricane Dorian. That's when her "hospital family" stepped in to help.

SPECIAL COVERAGE: Bahamas after Dorian

Maggie Carter, a nurse at Good Samaritan Medical Center, is from Freeport, Grand Bahama.

"My family was there during the hurricane and they rode it out the whole time," said Carter.

Watching the major storm bear down on her family from 90 miles away was gut wrenching

"I'm thinking the worse. I'm going to lose my entire family," said Carter.

That's when her work family came to her side -- both emotionally and financially.

"They kept checking on me to make sure everything is OK and they said no matter what happened, we stand by you," she said.

Her co-workers filled a room full of supplies for her to take home to family and friends.

"Ready to go and I couldn't believe it," said Carter.

Timely help, because after Hurricane Matthew hit in 2016, the hard working nurse helped pay to repair her mom's roof.

"I was tapped out, and I didn't know how I would be able to fix my mom's roof this time," said Carter.

Thankfully, Tenet Healthcare has a program that assists employees dealing with difficult circumstance. She received $4,000 for her family.

"There are a lot of ties between this community and the Bahamas, and Maggie has her whole family there and needed to support them, and we needed to support her," said Good Samaritan CEO Tara McCoy.

McCoy said her employees should know there is help when times get tough.

"When you look at our employees, they are the heart of the organization," said McCoy. "The ones that interact with our patients. They are the ones that are with our patients everyday making an impact and if they are stressed out from something out of their control, this is a way to help with that."