Hurley nurses and a patient hold afghans, made by volunteers with donated yarn, then given as “comfort covers” to patients at Hurley Medical Center. From left are: Marsha Kelley RN (retired), Nora Bieszak RN (currently on 9E), Lisa Bedsole RN (currently on 5C), patient Tracy Harris, and Gayle York RN (currently a nurse recruiter). (Hurley file photo, circa 2006)

Yarn donations needed to make comfort covers for patients

Even adults feel better with a little warmth and security, according to the Rev. Jean Munro, a board-certified chaplain and coordinator of pastoral care at Hurley Medical Center. It’s even nicer when it’s a comfortable blanket crafted by volunteers with yarn donated by countless individuals in the region surrounding Hurley, she said.

If anyone finds unused yarn at home – or in a friend or relative’s home, garage sale or thrift store – Hurley will gladly take it off of your hands to share with the volunteers, who can artistically integrate all different sorts of fibers and colors into a beautiful and comfortable afghan.

These “comfort covers” are given as gifts to Hurley patients, who “take them home to be wrapped not only in physical warmth but in the love of the unknown ‘angels,’” said Munro.

For example, said Munro, one family member whose mother received a donated comfort cover wrote:

My mother was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. Shortly after my mother was admitted for surgery to remove the cancer, her nurse brought a colorful afghan that had a tag, which read: "Your comfort cover, prayerfully made just for you and blessed by those of many faiths."

It brought a smile to both my mother and father’s faces. For the next nine days whenever any visitors would come in, the first thing that they would hear about was mom’s comfort cover. During the long sleepless nights at the hospital, after her surgery, my mother was always asking for the cover to be pulled up by her face so she could snuggle into it.

Munro said that nurses attempt to give patients an afghan color of their choice, which can help to soothe their souls as their bodies are healing and their minds are busy coping with, perhaps, unsettling diagnoses.

Munro said help is always needed and welcome. If you have or know of yarn that could be donated – no matter how small or large a quantity - or if you’d like to learn more about the Comfort Cover Ministry, contact Munro at:

Jean Munro, BCC
Coordinator of Pastoral Care
Hurley Medical Center
One Hurley Plaza
Flint, MI   48503
Office:  810-262-9517
E-mail: Jmunro1@hurleymc.com