PHOTO PROVIDED
Kathy Kling poses near Angie’s Closet at UPMC Williamsport. The closet, a free clothing resource for patients, is named in memory of her mother.
WILLIAMSPORT – Kathy Kling, paramedic, Susquehanna Regional EMS, recently spearheaded an initiative to provide clothing to patients in need seeking services at the emergency department at UPMC Williamsport.
Kathy has teamed up with hospital leaders to open Angie’s Closet, a free clothing resource named after her mother, a health care advocate, who died in a motor vehicle accident in 2017.
“In my years of experience, I’ve seen a lot of patients come in for services because of trauma or police investigations, and in many of those cases their clothing has either been cut off or confiscated,” said Kling. “While the hospital does provide scrubs and other temporary clothing, I wanted to be able to offer something more. It’s all about helping them to restore their dignity and respect after they’ve been through. It might seem like a small gesture, but it has a lasting impact on the patients.”
Angie’s Closet features new or gentle-used clothing items available in various sizes for women, men, and children. New items are purchased with funds provided by generous donors and gentle-used items have been donated by staff at UPMC in the Susquehanna region.
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