Albany hospital employees raise $160,000 for New York attack fund

ALBANY - Four hospital employees and their guests headed to New York Thursday to donate $160,000 to a city-run charity that is helping families of victims of the World Trade Center attacks. <br> <br> Joel Wernick, CEO of Albany&#39;s Phoebe-Putney Memorial Hospital, said 1,300 of the hospital&#39;s 2,800 employees gave their pay for one or more vacation days to raise money for New York&#39;s Twin Towers Fund, established by then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani. <br> <br> Wernick said more workers would have given, if they had not depleted their vacation time last summer. <br> <br> Phoebe Putney is one of the largest hospitals in southwestern Georgia, a largely rural, agricultural area covered with pine forests and peanut and cotton fields. Albany, located about 200 miles south of Atlanta, is the area&#39;s largest city. <br> <br> Wernick said the names of the three employees who accompanied Wernick were picked during the hospital&#39;s Christmas party. Each was allowed to bring one guest. They will present a check to the Twin Towers Fund Friday afternoon.