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Gratitude Stories – Martha
Just before Christmas in 2021, Martha Hunnewell contracted COVID. She quickly developed serious complications and, sadly, passed away a few short weeks later.
She was 77.
For her daughter, Alicia Van Arsdall, the loss was devasting. “My mother’s passing was horribly painful and unexpected,” she explains, “but the care she received at Newport Hospital, particularly from the hardworking nursing staff in the ICU, was incredible and heartwarming.”
Alicia describes her mom as a loving, creative person with a passion for living, a flair for entertaining, and a giving spirit. Witnessing staff who didn’t know Martha provide such exceptional, compassionate care, Alicia says, provided light during an otherwise very dark time. It also inspired Alicia to make a memorial gift to Newport Hospital in her mother’s honor and as a show of gratitude to her caregivers.
“I knew I wanted to give something back to this place that gave my mom so much,” she says. “The staff not only treated and cared for my mother at the end of her life, but throughout her life here in Newport. They always gave her wonderful care with kindness and respect.”
Alicia’s desire to give back led her to establish The Martha S. Hunnewell Scholarship Fund. The new scholarship fund enables staff to attend wellness and resilience-related trainings aimed at helping improve their own lives and work. A handful of Newport Hospital caregivers will be the first to take advantage of the scholarship by attending the largest conference for nursing professionals, The ANCC National Magnet Conference, in New Orleans later this fall.
Generous donations from Alicia and several of her mother’s friends in the Newport community will help fund the scholarship in perpetuity. The sale of jewelry made by Martha, who was an accomplished decorator and jewelry designer, also contributed significantly.
“This memorial project is hopeful, positive, and speaks to my mother’s legacy,” Alicia concludes. “Most importantly, it was based in gratitude and helped turn something devastating into something good. My mother would be very happy . . . and that gives my heart joy.”
As a reflection of her commitment to the wellbeing of Newport Hospital staff, the existing employee meditation center was also renamed to The Martha S. Hunnewell Meditation Center. The peaceful, staff-only space on the hospital’s campus is for colleagues to recharge, wind down, and take advantage of various wellness resources.