Henry Ford Health System issued the following announcement on May 4.
The Spirit of Detroit, one of metro Detroit’s most recognizable, photographed and treasured icons, is now wearing a white ribbon as a gargantuan symbol of gratitude for all healthcare workers, first responders and essential workers who have kept the community functioning during the COVID-19 crisis.
A crew of two from PropArt Studio installed all 420 square feet of polyester poplin that measures 12 by 15 feet on Monday. Attached is a three-foot-long white ribbon. Banner Sign Company, printed the shirt. The two Detroit businesses are behind shirts previously worn by the statue, including for the Super Bowl, Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings. The Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority partnered on the project.
Having the 26-foot-tall bronze monument display the ribbon on a t-shirt the color of blue-green scrubs is a proud and capstone moment for the Henry Ford Health System campaign that adopted the white ribbon as a way to express thanks to all healthcare workers and first responders everywhere, no matter where they work or live. As time went on the ribbon became a symbol of thanks to all essential employees and the campaign spread across the country.
“Without these essential employees, this crisis would have been gravely compounded,” said Wright Lassiter, III, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System. “The front-line health care workers, the first responders, the bus drivers, those who work for the post office, grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, banks, the manufacturers who shifted to producing personal protective equipment and more were absolutely critical to protecting public health, safety and quality of life.”
The White Ribbon Campaign began several weeks ago as the grass-roots dream of Dennis Lemanski, M.D., who retired last month as Senior Vice President of Medical Education and Medical Staff Affairs for Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital. He hoped a display of white ribbons would remind tired, unusually stressed front line workers managing near overwhelming numbers of patients that they weren’t forgotten.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Henry Ford Health System
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