Sure, they could have held a raffle or a silent auction or some other, less bonkers ways of raising money.
But this is South Louisiana, where costumes and parades are embraced with the same enthusiasm as a roast beef po-boy served alongside a frosty glass of anything.
So, when St. Tammany Hospital Foundation decided in 2007 to launch a new community fundraising event, they got creative and came up with what they called the Gurney Games.
That delightfully colorful event gets the spotlight in today’s installment in 70 for 70, our weekly history series highlighting artifacts that help tell the St. Tammany Health System story.
Installment No. 46: Let the games begin!
Today’s artifacts: A collection of trophies from the Gurney Games, a fundraiser for St. Tammany Hospital Foundation that ran from 2007 to 2011, and again from 2017 to 2019.
Why they are significant: Running a community-based health system is serious business. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun doing it from time to time.
Case in point: the Gurney Games, a blend of competition, costumes and off-the-charts creativity that united local businesses with colleagues from an assortment of St. Tammany Health System departments from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2017 to 2019.
“Oh, Gurney Games! This will forever be my favorite fundraiser in our foundation’s history, and one of the best shows of creativity, color and outright fun I have been part of,” foundation Executive Director Nicole Suhre said. “Most of all, I love how this event fostered teamwork within the local businesses and STHS departments that participated.”
An annual spectacle playing out on Columbia Street in downtown Covington, it all started with a parade (naturally), followed by the games themselves, in which costumed teams – some from the hospital, some from local businesses – raced to complete an obstacle course with a tricked-out gurney matching their chosen theme.
Awards were then given for such things as fastest time, best costumes, best gurney – and, reflecting the wacky tone of the event, best judges bribe.
Members of the public were invited to attend, with food, music and games lending the event a festival-like atmosphere. All proceeds, of course, went to the foundation to help in its support of the hospital.
Alas, all good things come to an end. The last installment of the Gurney Games was in 2019, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But for those who remember them, the games – as embodied by those slightly dusty trophies – exemplified the special bond between the hospital and the Northshore community, enhanced with a twist of uniquely South Louisiana fun.
“We are often asked if Gurney Games will make a comeback,” Suhre said, “and while there are currently no plans for that, you just never know when the gurneys will race again!”
Scroll down for photos from the Gurney Games from throughout the years.
Do you have a St. Tammany Parish Hospital story or item to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email us at CommDept@stph.org.
Next week – Installment No. 48: Honor Red, White and Blue
Last week – Installment No. 46: Be our guests