craigdailypress.com

Physicians, employees and administrators at The Memorial Hospital dancing around in pink gloves and zany outfits to Katy Perry is probably something most people would expect to see in a dream.

A video of that exact scenario was posted online as part of the Pink Glove Dance Competition.

The contest brings awareness to Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Competing in the nationwide Pink Glove Dance Contest, Jennifer Riley, chief of organizational excellence for the hospital, said the staff hopes to receive the most online votes and win. The winning dance receives $10,000, which will be donated to a charity the hospital has chosen. Second place receives $5,000, and third place gets $2,000.

The hospital has chosen the Moffat County Cancer Society to receive the money if its employees win. The charity helps those who have few resources and are in need of treatment.

It won’t be easy. Some of last year’s top dances had 50,000 to 60,000 votes. Riley said it would take community members promoting and sending links to family and friends to stand a chance at winning.

“Facebook is our friend,” Riley said.

Voting will be open from Oct. 12 to 26.

This is TMH’s first year participating, and Riley said she hopes it is the first of many. She said 81 staff members from at least 14 departments participated in the video.

“We didn’t have a lot of time to put it together,” Riley said. “But it was still a lot of fun.”

Riley said some staffers really got into it, with Chief Financial Officer Bryan Chalmers even allowing them to paint a pink ribbon on his head with lipstick.

The project took about a full day of filming, Riley said. “I can’t get that song out of my head. I know every word.”

Without giving too much away, the video features a pink glove inspector catching employees “pink-handed.”

Along with the video, the hospital is offering reduced-cost mammograms through October. The typical cost of a mammogram is $350, but this month, they’re $80 and are not billed to insurance. Patients must have a physician’s order.

Made for a great cause and sure to provide a laugh, those who want to view and vote for the hospital’s pink glove dance video can visit www.pinkglovedance.com/competition.

“We hope the community will watch the video and see the staff’s enthusiasm for finding a cure for breast cancer,” Riley said. “We care immensely about the people we care for and our community members.”

Darian Warden can be reached at 875-1793 or dwarden@craigdailypress.com