Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital Leaders Help with Space Coast Habitat’s Critical Home Repair Program for a Cocoa Homeowner
Cocoa, FL (August 24, 2026) —Twenty-five Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital leaders stepped away from their usual responsibilities and rolled up their sleeves for a leadership volunteer event with Space Coast Habitat for Humanity. Together, they donated 100 volunteer hours working on a Critical Home Repair residence for a local Cocoa couple.
So far this year, more than 345 Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital team members have dedicated 1,093 volunteer hours to strengthening the communities they serve through projects like this.
Volunteers from nursing, allied health, support services, information technology, surgical services and the senior leadership team, including the COO & CNO, spent four hours of their workday painting the exterior of the home as part of a partnership with Space Coast Habitat. The project helped improve a home where recent accessibility modifications, including ramp installations, have allowed the homeowners to leave their house for the first time in months.
For many participants, the project represented an opportunity to make a visible difference beyond the walls of the hospital while strengthening relationships and teamwork outside the hospital.
“Leadership means showing up wherever our community needs us—not just inside the walls of our hospital,” said Meeta Gandhi, chief operating officer of Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital. “This was an opportunity for our leadership team to lead by example; strengthen our relationships with one another and give back to the community we are privileged to serve. We’re grateful to Space Coast Habitat for partnering with us on a project that will have a lasting impact for this family.”
Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital teamed up with Space Coast Habitat to paint the home and support the nonprofit's mission of helping families achieve the dream of homeownership.
“Partnerships with organizations like Orlando Health are essential to Habitat’s Volunteer program. Together we’re helping families stay safe in their homes they love, while preserving affordable homeownership”, said Jenn Knuelle, Donor & Volunteer Specialist at Space Coast Habitat. “When Volunteers invest their valuable time with our volunteer critical home projects, they are doing more than painting a house they are preserving the dream of homeownership.”
For one Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital team member, who’s worked on other Habitat homes in north Georgia, this experience was both meaningful and memorable.
“There is something special about coming together to help a neighbor and get to see the results of your efforts,” said James Howell, facilities manager at Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital. “In just a half day of work we could make such a big difference for someone else. We helped create a place that feels more welcoming and cared for. It reminds you that even small acts of service can have a lasting impact.”
The painting project reflects Orlando Health's ongoing commitment to supporting the communities it serves through volunteerism, partnerships and outreach initiatives that improve the lives of local residents.
Photo Caption
Twenty-five leaders from Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital recently volunteered with Space Coast Habitat for Humanity, donating 100 hours to paint the exterior of a Cocoa-area home and support a local family on its journey toward safe, affordable homeownership.
About Orlando Health
Orlando Health is a private not-for-profit, integrated academic healthcare system with $15 billion of assets under management, that serves the southeastern United States – including Florida and Alabama – and Puerto Rico. With corporate offices in Orlando, Florida the system provides a complete continuum of care across a network of medical centers and institutes, community and specialty hospitals, physician practices, urgent care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare, and long-term and behavioral health care services. Founded more than 100 years ago, Orlando Health’s mission is to improve the health and the quality of life of the individuals and communities we serve. The system provided nearly $1.7 billion in community impact in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 23, the most recent period for which the information is available. For more information, visit orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.
About Space Coast Habitat for Humanity
Space Coast Habitat for Humanity believes everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to call home.
