JACKSON, Miss.—For the second year in a row, the employees and management at Ameristar Casino Vicksburg and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation have donated more than $100,000 to support spinal cord injury research and care in Mississippi.
Ray Neilsen, Corporate Vice President of Operations and Special Projects at Ameristar, today joined with the company’s employees to present a check for $104,568 to Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. The money will be used to help fund research at the hospital’s Center for Neuroscience and Neurological Recovery. A portion of the donation also will be used to support a patient care fund—a resource for patients who cannot afford essential equipment such as wheelchairs.
Employees at Ameristar Casino Vicksburg donated $34,856 to Methodist through the Ameristar Cares Workplace Giving Campaign. Their contribution was matched dollar for dollar by both the company and by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, bringing the joint donation to $104,568.
The foundation was created in 2003 by its namesake, Ameristar’s chairman and CEO, Craig H. Neilsen, to help those living with spinal cord injuries. It supports cutting-edge research to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as innovative nonprofit organizations focused on improving quality of life for those with spinal cord injuries.
"My father has a deep personal commitment—and it is the mission of his foundation—to support organizations like Methodist Rehabilitation Center as they provide comprehensive and innovative programs that make a profound difference in their patients' lives," said Ray Neilsen. “I am very pleased that Ameristar and the Neilsen Foundation were able to match our team members' contributions to Methodist Rehabilitation Center.”
Methodist is a 124-bed, nonprofit hospital that provides rehabilitation programs for people with spinal cord and brain injuries, stroke and other neurological and orthopedic disorders and treats patients from all of Mississippi’s 82 counties and from other states.
Methodist President and CEO Mark Adams said the Ameristar donation will advance the important research being conducted by the hospital’s neuroscience research team. “This donation will help fund our ongoing efforts to more quickly translate emerging discoveries into clinical practice,” Adams said.
Dr. Dobrivoje Stokic, CNNR director, said the money will enable his team to continue work on several SCI projects already underway.
“In particular, we hope to finalize a system that will allow patients computer access to interactive internet-based educational material designed to improve their knowledge of self-care,” Dr. Stokic said. “Patients will be able to use it in the privacy of their rooms at their convenience 24 hours a day.”
Last year’s donation also helped fund neuroscience research and patient care.
“Our therapeutic recreation program was one of those that benefited greatly from Ameristar’s first donation,” said Ginny Boydston, therapeutic recreation director at Methodist. “Their generosity helps fund our quad rugby team and has helped to establish two new programs—fencing and golf. Without their donation, neither of these programs would be available. And the quad rugby team proudly wears its Ameristar jerseys.”
Last year’s donation also helped fund neuroscience research and patient care.
Ameristar team member Derek Adams knows on a deeply personal level how critical such programs and services can be.
“My younger brother broke his neck two years ago in a diving accident in Tampa, and is currently paralyzed from the chest down,” explained Adams, marketing database manager for Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg.
“The months following his accident opened my eyes to the many challenges faced by people with such life-changing disabilities, and to the incredible importance organizations like Methodist Rehab play in helping people endure these challenges. I was grateful to find out that I could make Methodist Rehab my charity of choice.”
Ameristar Cares is an annual workplace giving campaign which offers Ameristar Team Members a number of ways to give back to the community. In 2005, the campaign featured six partners: Red Cross disaster relief (for rebuilding efforts in the Mississippi Gulf Coast), umbrella organizations such as United Way and Community Health Charities, as well as a local partner selected by each property, a local rehabilitation facility to help individuals with spinal cord injuries and the company’s own internal Sunshine Fund emergency relief account for team members who experience a crisis.
The company matches dollar for dollar every donation made by an Ameristar Team Member. The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation adds an additional match for every donation to the designated rehabilitation facility. In the fall of 2005, this campaign raised over 2.35 million dollars.