Six local health care professionals and advocates were recognized at Legacy Health Endowment’s second annual Jennifer Larson Healthcare Hero Awards, which honor those who seek to improve the health and well-being of their communities.
Jeffrey Lewis, CEO and president of LHE, presented each of the six recipients — Erica Ayala of Invest In Me, Sandra Chavarria-Aguilar of the Center for Human Services, Dr. David Hilburn of the Sutter Health Residency Program, Dr. Chris Hawley and Dr. Sam Romeo Jr. of Seity Health, and Marie Russell of Turlock Unified School District — with their awards.
Christalyne Duarte-Ilano of the Center for Human Services was not able to attend.
“It’s important to thank people for doing an uncommon thing commonly well, and this is just a small way of saying thank you,” said Lewis. “These are people who are not household names but do what they do because they love their work and they love their community. Their passion for excellence and compassion in caring for people is unparalleled.”
Each recipient took a moment to reflect on what being a Healthcare Hero meant to them.
— “First of all, the award’s namesake — Jennifer Larson — was the one who recruited both Chris (Hawley) and I when she was on the board of Emanuel Medical Center. She recruited us as young physicians to the community, and there is nothing that makes a new physician feel more at home in a community than one of the board members greeting you at the holiday party with a warm hug that says ‘you belong.’ To be associated with her name is quite an honor. And then, of course, we have great respect for Jeffrey, who’s been a friend and mentor over the years and done such tremendous work in the community. To be acknowledged by him and Legacy Health Endowment is just a humbling experience.” — Sam Romeo Jr.
— “It’s a great honor, especially among all these community members that I’ve known for 20-something years. As a doctor, you plant yourself and invest in a community, and you give and give and give. There are lots of wonderful 'gets' along the way, and sometimes you get recognized for that body of work, and that’s really rewarding.” — Dr. Chris Hawley
— “When you are surrounded by doctors and nurses who are true Healthcare Heroes, you feel a little out of place being a (school) district administrator. But I am truly honored. It’s been my great privilege to work with Jeffrey Lewis the past few years to bring health care to our family resource center. We’ve held vaccine clinics, we’ve held eyeglasses clinics, and we’re currently doing dental clinics. I grew up poor, and dental care and health care were hard for my family, so it means a lot to me to recognized tonight. But I do know who the true Healthcare Heroes are because I work with them every day. They’re our school nurses and school LVNs, and on their behalf I’m happy to accept this award.” — Marie Russell.
— “It’s such an honor to serve my community by providing more access to health care to people who are in great need of it. And it’s been an honor to do that at the Center for Human Services, which is an agency that really has a lot of values. All of our services are built around those values, and we’ve been able to provide access to people who are uninsured and low-income.” — Sandra Chavarria-Aguilar
— “You get recognition from your patients, of course, but to get something like this is really neat. And it’s neat to have my family here and some of the people who work in my office. I’m in family medicine and I’ve been in Patterson since 1986. And I joined Sutter in 1988 — it was Gould back then — when there were only 60 positions, at the most. Now there’s more than 500. It’s changed a lot in 39 years.” — Dr. David Hilburn
— “This award means a lot to me. Hopefully, it means that I’m being of service to the community and valuing the importance of health, and access to build a better life for our children and families.” — Erica Ayala
Also on hand at Tuesday’s event was Larson, the first chairwoman of the LHE board of directors, which was formed in 2014 after the sale of Emanuel Medical Center. Before joining the LHE board, she served on the EMC board for nearly two decades, including 11 years as its chairwoman.
“It truly is an honor, but I want to recognize the recipients,” said Larson. “I did what I did because I love this community and I love health care. There are so many people that do so many great things in this community, and we don’t always know who they are. Bringing these people forward and giving them a chance to be recognized is what it’s all about."
