Erica Smith, executive director of Helping Hands of Springfield, has announced her resignation effective January 14, 2021. Smith will join Hospital Sisters Health System as the executive director of Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach in February. She will replace Georgia Winson in this role, who is retiring in February.
Smith has served as the director of Helping Hands since 2017. The Helping Hands board of directors will begin a replacement search immediately to begin the leadership transition process.
“It’s been my privilege to work at Helping Hands for the last four-and-a-half years,” said Smith. “While I am sad to leave, I’m also proud of our incredible staff and what we have accomplished. We have a strong team and I’m looking forward to working with our board of directors and new executive director to make this transition as smooth as possible.”
Smith previously worked for HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield in marketing and communications. She has also volunteered at Mission Outreach and served as an intern there while completing her master’s degree public health, community and behavioral health. In addition, Smith participated in a one-month mission experience serving with the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis in Tanzania and provided training to benefit health care providers in South Africa.
Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach (HSMO) is a medical surplus recovery organization that collects, repairs, packages and distributes medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and clinics around the world. HSMO is a ministry of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS), which is headquartered in Springfield. Currently, Mission Outreach secures usable medical supplies and equipment from over 115 hospitals and 18 clinics in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri.
