Southwest Missouri News--Branson

by Carol Harris, Branson area, and Mary Engler-Guccione, Joplin area

Twenty Branson area businesses, as well as several pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies, raised more than $10,000 in the MASH (Mending the Area's Special Hearts) Golf Tournament Oct. 2 at Pointe Royale. The money will benefit patients who cannot pay for the use of Skaggs cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs.

Jan Harper, RN, clinical nurse manager of the cardiac rehabilitation program, said, "The quality of life for those attending rehabilitation programs such as ours is greatly improved, while the likelihood of the patient experiencing another cardiac incident is greatly reduced." More than 1,000 patients have gone through the rehabilitation programs.