Robyn and Tom Payant, residents of Wimauma’s Valencia Lakes community and longtime supporters of St. Joseph’s Hospital-South, have donated a Belmont infuser to the Riverview hospital.
A Belmont infuser rapidly infuses fluids or blood products very quickly into a patient for conditions such as hypothermia and blood loss. The infuser also warms the fluids and blood products before being delivered into a patient. The infuser will be used in the hospital’s emergency department.
The Payants are area residents and felt the donation would be advantageous to the local community, especially to a specific segment of the Southern Hillsborough County population.
“It (the infuser) serves the 55-and-over communities,” said Tom, a St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation board member. “That was part of our motivation for the donation; we thought we could give back with something beneficial for our age group.”
“We live here and we are advocates for this hospital, we love them,” said Robyn.
She has a title of ‘leader’ with the Philanthropic Women of St. Joseph’s Hospitals, associated with the St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation. The Payants made their infuser donation through their involvement with the foundation.
The Payants have also had leadership roles in St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s annual ‘Christmas in July at the South Pole,’ a toy drive for hospitalized pediatric patients at St. Joseph’s Hospital-South. They have been chairpersons for the event and done community and media outreach, organized toy drive drop-off locations and volunteered many hours in promoting and supporting the event.
“We have deep appreciation and gratitude for Robyn and Tom,” said St. Joseph’s Hospital-South President Patrick Downes. “They are such an integral part of our St. Joseph’s Hospital family. Their interest, support and generosity towards our hospital makes a huge impact. They are familiar and beloved figures in our hospital. We thank them and are grateful to have them in our corner.”
St. Joseph’s Hospital-South, part of the BayCare Health System, celebrated its 10th birthday on February 2. The hospital opened 10 years ago to bring high-quality health care services to Southern Hillsborough County and Northern Manatee County in an environment designed to help patients heal. St. Joseph’s Hospital-South features all-private suites and offers emergency care, surgical services, imaging, intensive care, obstetrics, a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), pediatrics, heart and vascular care and more in a peaceful, relaxing and family-centered environment. The all-digital, state-of-the-art facility is specially designed to make visitors as comfortable as possible during their hospital experience. The 223-bed hospital is located at 6901 Simmons Loop in Riverview.
For more information, visit https://stjosephshospitalsouth.org/.
