Caritas Clinics, including the Duchesne Clinic in Kansas City, Kan., and the St. Vincent Clinic in Leavenworth, have announced Caritas Celebrates Honorees Awards.
The awards will be presented April 26 at an event at the KCI Expo Center. The event includes dinner, dancing and a silent auction to benefit the clinics.
Greg Shondell of Kansas City, Kan., will be honored with the Sister Rosalie Mahoney Award for living the spirit of Sister Rosalie Mahoney through tireless dedication and service to the mission of Saint Vincent and Duchesne clinics.
Shondell volunteers in the Pharmaceutical Assistance Program. The secretary-treasurer of the Heathwood Oil Co., Shondell brings his analytical and process improvement sills to Duchesne Clinic for four to eight hours each week.
He is part of the volunteer and staff of the program team that brings more than $2.1 million a year in pharmaceutical medications to patients with chronic conditions.
He is being honored with the clinics’ highest honor for his volunteer work, critical thinking, sense of humor and compassion.
“Seeing the clinic’s operation for myself, it continues to impress me how compassionate the entire staff is, and at the same time dealing with limited resources, the organization is incredible efficient,” Shondell said. “’Compassion’ and ‘efficiency’ are not commonly used together, but donors should be assured that their support is never wasted.”
Another award, the Caritas Award, will go to the First Christian Church – Christian Men’s Fellowship of Leavenworth. The group volunteers to park cars at the Leavenworth County Fair, donating the proceeds from that work to patient care each year since Saint Vincent Clinic opened in 1986.
The Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department has been named the Community Servant of the Year for supporting the mission and work of the clinics, and promoting access to quality health care for the poor and vulnerable.
“As public servants, every person in this department is dedicated to serving the members of our community. No matter who, where, or what the situation is, every person we serve deserves respect,” said John Paul Jones, KCKFD fire chief.
Patients with chronic conditions often come to their clinic appointments feeling very sick. The clinics help them get their conditions back under control. Occasionally, however, a patient is truly in a medical crisis and needs emergency medical treatment. That’s when the Duchesne Clinic staff gets to see more than bravery from the local fire department; that’s when we see these first responders’ dedication to serving with compassion and respect. The men and women of the KCK Fire Department’s EMS Division demonstrate effective, compassion care at each emergency call at Duchesne Clinic, a spokesman for the clinic said. In commitment to community collaboration, the KCKFD also provides annual CPR recertification training to Duchesne Clinic staff.
Moreno Family Dentistry of Kansas City, Kan., will receive the Business of the Year awards as a partner who works with Saint Vincent and Duchesne Clinics to improve the health of individuals and communities, promotes healthy communities through their work in Leavenworth or Wyandotte counties, or promotes healthy work environments for their employees and the people of Leavenworth or Wyandotte counties.
For seven years, the staff of Moreno Family Dentistry have collaborated with Duchesne Clinic to ensure that dental caries do not prevent patients’ progress to better health. Through donated care and clinic vouchers, Dr. Moreno and her staff have helped well over a hundred Duchesne Clinic patients a year get back on the road to health. Going above and beyond to improve the health of patients, Dr. Moreno and her staff have brought a smile to the clinic’s patients – and staff.
“Dr. Moreno’s generous and compassionate care is a gift to our patients,” said Sister Helen Bristow, SCL.
“It is our privilege to recognize these honorees for their contributions to the clinics, and to work alongside them day in and day out, on our common goal of ensuring that the poor and uninsured have access to quality health care. We do it not because it is easy, but because it is the right thing to do. Each of these partners understand that just as much as we do,” said Amy Falk, executive director.
In 2013, the Duchesne and St. John’s clinics served almost 3,000 patients, averaging 70 visits per day between the two clinics.
For more information on the clinics, visit www.CaritasClinics.org.
– Information from Caritas Clinics