Our Stories

Major surgery did a number on Almetra Finley last year, but she was working to get back on her feet physically and financially when some more bad news dealt her another blow.

“I have a 31-year-old daughter, and she had been diagnosed with a complex, inoperable brain tumor,” says Almetra, who is a PBX operator at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas. “This required me to make several trips back and forth to UCLA Medical Center so I could be at her bedside.”

The plan of care included multiple, daily radiation treatments, as well as arranging for follow-up care, because the aggressive medical approach meant the loss of sight in one eye, as well as some other ongoing physical aftereffects.

“Last year was a trying time for my family, as we all were working to get it back together,” Almetra says. “We got through my surgery, and her treatments, and have just been taking it one day at a time. But it all took a toll, and I really faced some financial hardships.”

She was aware of the Hope Fund, as it had been discussed during her new-employee orientation and she was contributing via payroll deduction, but didn’t think about utilizing the fund until a supervisor reminded her of the possible assistance.

“I didn’t think I would qualify, because while I was being affected financially the issues weren’t just around my own illness,” Almetra says. “But my supervisor said that I was being affected, and so I needed to look into it.”  The Hope Fund came through, and the assistance was everything she had hoped for and more.  “My resources were exhausted, and housing in Los Angeles is ridiculously high,” she says. “I truly did not know how I would manage it, and with the Hope Fund’s help everything worked out really well. I am truly grateful for the assistance, and really can’t thank everyone at the Hope Fund, and everyone who donates, enough.”

HCA is a remarkable place to work for many reasons, she adds, and the Hope Fund is just icing on the cake.  “I don’t know of any other company that has something like this in place,” she says. “They just don’t think about this kind of assistance, and there’s really nothing quite like it.”