By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

Nine-month-old Bailey France rode in her stroller Saturday morning to honor a grandmother she will never know during the 26th annual Walk for Hospice and Home Health at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.

Lawanna France, of Miami, Okla., died at the age of 49 from cancer — one week after Bailey was born, said Holly France, the girl’s mother.

Bailey, who was born three weeks premature, weighed a little less than two pounds at birth. Her grandmother lived long enough to see pictures of her first grandchild.

“She would have been a good grandmother,” Holly France said.

The annual event is sponsored by the St. John’s Mercy Regional Foundation to raise money for the hospice program and the home-health program, said Treva Kennedy, foundation president and chief executive officer.

About 90 walkers participated in Saturday’s event, which raised money through pledges received from the walkers, Kennedy said. The number of walkers was down from previous years, which she attributed to a lot of other area events on Saturday.

Saturday’s event was a 5-kilometer walk or about 42 laps, Kennedy said.

The event traditionally raises about $12,000, which is used to furnish hospital beds and other equipment, as well as medication for terminally-ill cancer patients in the last few months of their lives.

Kennedy said many of the teams and individuals who participate do so to honor lost loved ones. She said the program is valued by those it serves.

“It gives the family assurance that they don’t have to go through this alone, that they have somebody who cares in their time of need,” Kennedy said.

Travel expenses also are allocated for family members who need to visit a dying loved one.

The program was expanded to also provide funds for home-health care, specifically for people who need help in buying medications and medical equipment, said Pat Price, director of home-care services.

Funds also are used for families who have lost a family member to cancer up to six months after the death to help with counseling and other needs, Price said.