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Press Release
Volunteers in Medicine Honors Eight Women with Heart at Sixth Annual Signature Event on February 2
Jacksonville, Florida – On Wednesday, February 2, Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) will host the Sixth Annual Women with Heart Luncheon at the Florida Blue Conference Center. Eight women will be honored at the luncheon.
The 2022 honorees are:
- Terrie Andrews, PhD, Baptist Health
- Debbie Buckland, TRUIST Bank
- Paula Chamberlain, MSN, MA, Ascension St. Vincent’s
- Jessica Cummings, Brooks Rehabilitation
- Sejal Kuthiala, MD, Memorial Hospital, Cancer Specialists of North Florida
- Susan Monahan, OD, Ponte Vedra Eye Associates
- Patricia Gillum Sams, JEA and The Sistah Covenant
- Kelli Wells, MD, Florida Blue
Women with Heart honorees are chosen because they are committed to leadership, advocacy, and the health of our community. “These women have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the health of the community through their professional and personal engagement and accomplishments,” said Ann Carey, VIM Board Chair.
The luncheon kicks off a year-long awareness and fundraising campaign. Each honoree has committed to a month of advocacy and service to the clinic. This year’s luncheon features a drawing for the 2022 “Heart of Jacksonville” necklace, donated by Allen’s Jewelers and valued at $13,000. Tickets can be purchased for $100; only 150 tickets will be sold.
“These women are community leaders, advocates, and key influencers,” said VIM CEO Jennifer Ryan. “Their dedication to the health and well-being of the community is vital in making real change.”
VIM is currently accepting sponsors for this year’s Women with Heart Luncheon. Sponsors help to ensure that those who do not earn enough to meet their basic needs, the Asset Limited, Income Constrained Employed, or ALICE, population, have access to healthcare. This is especially the case for women, who make up 69% of VIM’s patients. Roughly three out of every four households headed by single women live below the ALICE threshold. If interested in sponsoring, please contact Karen Smith, VIM’s Development Manager.
By supporting VIM through the Women with Heart Luncheon, the ALICE population is given a medical home. This is opposed to making trip after trip to emergency rooms, a resource proven to be finite over the past year. The consequences of illnesses going undetected and unmanaged have been revealed as well; chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension quickly go from debilitating to deadly. By sponsoring Women with Heart, the impact of the clinic will be felt by many in the community.
For more information or details about the luncheon, sponsorship or tickets, please contact Karen Smith, Development Manager at (904) 399-2766, ext. 102# or KSmith@vim-jax.org.
About Volunteers in Medicine
Founded in 2003, Volunteers in Medicine, Jacksonville is a free healthcare clinic that provides outpatient primary and specialty medical services to Northeast Florida’s working, low-income, uninsured individuals and their families. Over 250 volunteer physician, nursing, and support staff from across the region donate their time and talent monthly to keep families healthy, employed and out of the hospital emergency rooms.
