Parker’s Kitchen – a nationally acclaimed convenience store company and food service leader that has been honored by the Charleston Regional Business Journal as the Most Philanthropic Business – celebrated a ribbon cutting for the new Gregory M. Parker Emergency Department at Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, S.C. on Jan. 29. All six emergency departments throughout Roper St. Francis Healthcare were formally named in honor of Parker’s Kitchen founder and CEO Gregory M. Parker, whose landmark $5 million gift to the system will advance healthcare for generations to come.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare Interim President and CEO Dr. Megan Baker and Parker joined Roper St. Francis Foundation President Stacy Waters to cut a ribbon in front of Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital to mark the occasion and to honor Parker’s generosity.

The $5 million gift – the largest in the system’s history – established the Roper St. Francis Foundation Parker’s Community Impact Fund to support uninsured and underinsured residents throughout the greater Charleston area, as well as healthcare provider support initiatives at Roper St. Francis Healthcare.

An accomplished breast surgeon, Dr. Baker said she has seen how philanthropy can transform a patient’s experience and positively affect the outcome. Parker’s work to improve that experience for underserved communities complements the Roper St. Francis Healthcare mission of healing all people with compassion, faith and excellence, she said.

Baker thanked Parker for such a remarkable act of generosity.

“Ensuring teammates’ success while serving our patients and community are central to Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s mission,” Dr. Baker said. “This $5 million gift from the Parker’s Community Fund will help us advance that mission boldly. As a physician who sees the direct impact this gift has on patients and caregivers, Mr. Parker’s commitment is inspiring to us all.”

Parker praised Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s rich history of fulfilling its mission and said he hopes the gift will help expand access to emergency care for all.

“Parker's Kitchen and Roper St. Francis Healthcare share the same commitment to excellence and serve the same community in Charleston,” Parker said. “We know that the ER is the ‘front door’ to the hospital. According to the CDC, nearly 136 million patients go through emergency rooms in the United States annually, which is one-third of the U.S. population. Emergency rooms take care of everyone, regardless of their age, race or faith – and that’s true at Parker’s Kitchen as well. Like Roper St. Francis Healthcare, we are dedicated to serving all people.”

Mark Dickson, vice president of mission at Roper St. Francis Healthcare, said the system was born out of community members’ generosity. Both Roper Hospital and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital were established with the help of significant donations, he noted.

“Roper St. Francis Healthcare fulfills its mission throughout the Lowcountry with special attention to the poor and most vulnerable,” Dickson said. “We celebrate today that many, many more people will continue to be blessed, comforted and healed through these doors and in all of our facilities, now and into the bright future we have together.”

The Roper St. Francis Foundation Parker’s Community Impact Fund will continue to enhance existing system priorities, including:

• Roper St. Francis Greer Transitions Clinic, an outpatient clinic for the underserved
• Assistance for uninsured and underinsured patients
• Debt-free degree programs and career development for Roper St. Francis Healthcare teammates
• Youth apprenticeships
• On-the-job training for historically marginalized communities 

Parker’s has been named the Convenience Store Chain of the Year by Convenience Store Decisions, which is the industry’s highest honor. The company has also been honored by Food and Wine as one of America’s Best Convenience Stores and by Convenience Store News as the Convenience Foodservice Leader of the Year.

Since its founding in 1976, Parker’s has grown to become a nationally acclaimed company that was recently voted the #4 Best Gas Station for Food and the #6 Best Gas Station Brand in America by USA TODAY readers. The Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 300,000 members, has saved customers more than $15 million to date. Parker’s employs more than 1,360 professionals throughout Georgia and South Carolina and completes more than 134,000 transactions daily.