Bluegrass Care Navigators paused on November 8 to remember the lives that team members touched - and were touched by - throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with the installation of a 1,000 Touches Memorial. Located in the atrium in the Lexington office and at each regional office, the hands are meant to display the feelings held by many staff members. The thumb prints are cast from staff members as a remembrance of held space for those we lost, those we serve and those we work alongside. 
 
“During the last two-and-a-half years, we all realized the power of touch, whether physical, emotional, spiritual or virtual,” Dave Carper, Counseling Resource Officer, said. “To me, this memorial shows the best of who we are as individuals, team members, and the community of Bluegrass Care Navigators. As people reflect on this exhibit, I hope it offers a healing place to remember, celebrate and honor those we serve, those who impacted us, those we love, and those we will always cherish. 

Staff thumb prints remember a person who brought meaning to that individual during the isolation of the pandemic. These prints cascade into plaster-cast hands of our clinicians, capturing the enormity of our work and helping us realize the gift of giving and receiving in the community. Individually, we touch a few. Together, we change our communities.

A 1,000 Touches Memorial will be featured at each Bluegrass Care Navigators office in Lexington, Frankfort, Cynthiana, Hazard, Barbourville, Northern Kentucky and Pikeville.