The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation announced a $1.2 million gift Wednesday to Novant Health to establish the Novant Health Martin Truex Jr. Foundation Children’s Emergency Department in Huntersville, North Carolina, and the SherryStrong Integrative Medicine Oncology Clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The announcement was made during the 9th annual Catwalk for a Cause fundraising event Truex and partner Sherry Pollex host.
“This remarkably generous gift from the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation will help Novant Health strengthen our community by ensuring cancer patients achieve optimal health and healing and children have access to life-saving emergency services,” said Dr. Andrew Mueller, senior vice president of Novant Health and president of the greater Charlotte market, in a statement.
The Novant Health Martin Truex Jr. Foundation Children’s Emergency Department is scheduled to open in 2019 and designed to meet the needs of children and their families. The department will include a colorful waiting room, a triage room, nine private exam rooms and the most advanced child-sized medical equipment.
The Novant Health SherryStrong Integrative Medicine Oncology Clinic will be housed in the new John M. and Claudia W. Belk Heart and Vascular Institute and Edward I. and Agnes B. Weisiger Cancer Institute that is under construction and scheduled to open in 2020.
In 2014, Pollex was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. She launched SherryStrong.org in May 2016 to empower women to know their bodies, recognize the symptoms of ovarian cancer and learn how integrative and holistic practices may complement conventional medicine.
“Sherry and I are incredibly proud to partner with Novant Health to make a meaningful impact on patients while supporting causes that have touched our hearts and our lives,” said Truex in a statement. “We hope that our contributions will provide healthy and positive outcomes for adults living with cancer and children who need specialized emergency medical care.”
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