Dr. Diana Flannery, Ph.D., is my Women’s Health hero.

I took a Women’s Health course from Diana in college and absolutely loved it. Dr. Flannery is Professor in the Department of Health and Community Services at California State University, Chico. She has delivered presentations of her work both internationally and nationally to various organizations and has published articles on tobacco, sexual health, and service learning related topics. Dr. Flannery is involved with many different population groups and instructional methods, including service learning, feminist activism, K-12 education, and environmental education and justice.

For many years, her students have been engaged in fundraising and pesticide awareness programs to migrant farm workers and their families in Butte and Glenn Counties, and have created educational materials for women’s organizations and the local environmental health department. Her teaching style and classroom environment is politically driven, socially conscious, student centered and empowerment driven. I know that students appreciate her humor and her straight forward approach to education and communication. Dr. Flannery ‘tells it like it is’ and students really respond to this with passionate engagement and discussion.

It’s amazing how these things happen in our lives; I enrolled in Dr. Flannery’s course on Women’s Health as a junior in college and it helped spearhead within me an interest in Women’s Health and social justice that brought me to the Peace Corps in West Africa and to medical school and a residency in Family Medicine, where I am now providing full spectrum health care to my patients everyday.

I love what I do and I always think about Dr. Flannery when I talk with my patients, from childhood through pregnancy and menopause, we cover the entire life cycle. I thank her for that foundation that she provided to me and many other young women and men in college who are seeking honesty and education regarding their health care needs. I wanted to thank Diana for all that she does. Thank you for this opportunity.

I am nominating myself because since 2000, I have been working for the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding. I am playing my role in many ways to reduce mortality and enrich and protect mothers’ health in Bangladesh. I am providing training on the issues to the community trainers who would ultimately ensure mothers’ health and promote breastfeeding in the community.

Also, I encourage local organizations elsewhere in Bangladesh to include MCH [Maternal and Child Health] programmes in their activities. I have formed a network in Bangladesh to support mothers(pregnant and postnatal). I have formed 74 MSGs (Mother Support Group) in Bangladesh for ensuring safe delivery and infant and young Child Feeding. I am relentlessly working along individuals and CBOs [Confederation of Bangladesh Organisations] to promote women’s rights in terms nutrition and good health.

What does a Health Care Hero mean to most?  To me, it means someone who most of all puts her patient’s feelings ahead of her own, makes her patients feel comfortable every step of the way, is an advocate for women all over the country, and encourages women to uphold the highest standard of health care available.  I believe Sheri Skalsky does all of these things with a passion every day of her life.

Sheri is a fantastic wife, and the mother of two children, I being one of them, who she has raised most of the time while furthering her education.  She grew up in eastern North Dakota where she developed a passion for health care.  She started out her career as an RN mainly focusing her ten years of experience in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department as a labor and delivery nurse.  From there, she decided she wanted to further her education in order to help more women.  She received her Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis online while tending to her teenage children’s constant needs, as well as maintaining her full-time position as a labor and delivery nurse.  She then accepted a position where she now works as a nurse practitioner for Great Plains Women’s Health Center in Williston, North Dakota.

I may be slightly biased as her daughter, but I think her achievements as a health care professional speak for themselves.  She is not only a wonderful mother, but I can tell you since I’ve worked beside her, she is a wonderful provider.  From the time I was very young she has made me comfortable talking about health care issues and even going as far as talking to my girlfriends as well.  She was able to convey messages that have stuck to all of us as we grew about being healthy women.  She has even inspired my career in medicine because she has been such a good role model.

I believe Sheri Skalsky should be your chosen Health Care Hero, because she is a fabulous provider who cares deeply about the needs of her patients, and women in general.  She has been an advocate to the care of women her entire life, and has truly been a role model to all she has come in contact with.  She has worked extremely hard and dedicated her life to her children and her career and is constantly trying to improve and better her patient care.  She is the best mother a daughter could ask for, and the best role model anyone could ask for, and I truly believe she is the definition of a Health Care Hero.

Second Nomination
Entrant: Rebecca Parker

Sheri Skalsky, WHNP-C, is the true definition of a Health Care Hero. She is not only a wonderful mother and wife; she is also the most amazing provider a patient could ask for. She has been an advocate of women’s health care her entire life, and has dedicated most of her time and energy bettering the lives of women, while maintaining time for her friends, family, and community.

Sheri grew up in eastern North Dakota where she developed her passion for health care. She and her husband Dave made their life here where he tended a farm and she worked at a clinic. She attended college while raising her lovely children and received her RN, which she put to work in as a Labor and Delivery nurse at a hospital in western North Dakota. She put in ten years of experience here, helping women through the difficult task of childbirth, often working nights so she could spend more time with her children.  She even furthered her education becoming a Lamaze teacher, helping women with all facets of the birthing process. She decided, however, she wanted to do more.  She obtained her Master’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis online while attending to the needs of her teenagers and continuing to maintain her full time position as an L&D nurse, which are each full-time positions in and of themselves.  She has always remained a dedicated wife and mother, as well as a hardworking member of her community, despite the hardships of higher education.

After completing her Masters, she obtained a position and Great Plains Women’s Health Center, where she now works as a WHNP-C. She works extremely hard for her patients there, often working after hours and constantly updating her knowledge and education by attending conventions and classes. She recently took a side job working for the Upper Missouri Health unit, which provides lower cost care to the community where she provides women’s health care. She has an excellent repertoire dealing with younger women, who are often afraid to take care of issues of their health care and sexual health. As a friend of her daughters, I can tell you she frequently spoke with us about health issues most parents would be too afraid of, and it really stuck with all of us.  She was also a huge role model for her daughter, helping shape her future career. She was never afraid and always made us feel comfortable coming to her with any concerns.

Sheri Skalsky, WHNP-C is the true definition of a Health Care Hero. She is extremely dedicated to her patients and their well-being, as well as her family and community. She is passionate about the health of women and the advancement of this science, and dedicates her life to the study and advancement of it. She is a wonderful role model, wife, and mother, and is a true health care hero in her community.

Mrs. Cynthia Callahan Davis, M.P.H. (UCLA) has been one of the key Health care professionals engaged in the fight to save the people of Los Angeles County, especially women, from the tragic effects of the HIV/AIDS virus. As the Director of HIV Education and Outreach Programs at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles since the late 1980’s, Mrs. Davis has raised money for local community education activities, special programs and training seminars.

She has raised the awareness of local and national communities about the threat of HIV/AIDS, as well as other sexually transmitted diseases and how to prevent them, while dispelling myths and misinformation about the virus and its consequences. Through her indefatigable efforts, she has raised the level of commitment of health care and non-health care activists to join this struggle.

In the Los Angeles Times article, “Soft Side of AIDS War” (25 December, 2008, The Region section), she has been recognized for her efforts to expand the struggle for women’s health and well-being from the Los Angeles metropolitan area in which Drew University is located to the world stage.

This shift started in the early 1990’s when she presented papers at two international conferences: the Women’s – AIDS Conference, held in Uganda in 1992; and the Fourth World Conference on Women, sponsored by the United Nations, which was held in Beijing in 1996.  Although her work was the subject of another article, entitled “On the Frontline of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic:…” in Black Issues in Higher Education (24 March, 2005), for the most part, Assistant Professor Davis has toiled, lectured and traveled for decades in quiet, yet effective, anonymity.

She has elevated the HIV/AIDS education, information distribution and fund-raising struggle from the national to the global community of women through the development of her “Dolls of Hope” project: cloth dolls that are hand-made by women in AIDS awareness groups around the world.  These and other hand-crafted items are often exchanged and sold to generate funds for “Dolls …” projects and education programs.

She has stretched the positive influences of the 1960’s African American saying “each one, teach one” and the empowering impact that it has had on young women– especially Black and Latina adolescents from South Central/Central metropolitan Los Angeles and Compton — to include women of all ages from Birmingham and Brooklyn, from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Cape Town, South Africa to South East Asia and Central America.

Cynthia Davis is a loving wife and mother of one daughter. Her boundless energy, creative vision and dedication to the health of humanity, especially women’s health, began long before we met as classmates in the School of Public Health at UCLA. Even then, she shared with, and cared about, her husband, and later their new baby girl, as well as her fellow classmates and her community. She would make all manner of deliciously prepared ethnic dishes “just for the occasion” when our Multi-Cultural Student Association held potlucks and holiday parties. No matter what event occurred, she usually managed to introduce into the festivities some new nugget about a health issue that concerned women.

Yet, whether she was cooking, doing statistics homework, planning a research presentation, or conducting a seminar,  Mrs. Cynthia Callahan Davis has always expemplified the best in practical, clear-eyed love of justice, humane gentility and friendship. She is my nominee for the Women’s Health Heroes Award from the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective.

I am pleased to nominate Sabrina Matoff-Stepp as a 2009 Women’s Health Hero.  For the last two years, she has not only been my supervisor but also one of my best mentors. Sabrina is always willing to help others strive to be the best they can be. She is sought out as a mentor by student interns, fellows, and scholars because of her commitment to mentoring and giving back. She is a role model for many people looking for a strong and caring leader.

Sabrina has given me confidence in my ability to advance in my career goals, and help others who are beginning their Federal careers. Perhaps this is because she started her federal career almost 20 years ago as a clerk-typist and has worked every day since to be who she is today!

For the last six years, Sabrina has been the Director of the Office of Women’s Health at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). In this capacity, she is responsible for coordinating women’s health activities across HRSA programs, and building collaborations across federal, state, and local levels. One of the most amazing things about Sabrina is that she worked full time while in graduate school at the University of Maryland, College Park!

She completed her Masters degree in 1998, focusing on body image concerns of African American and Caucasian women over age 30, and her doctoral dissertation in 2007, which focused on the impact of case management on outpatient visits for men and women living with HIV/AIDS.  Her ability to multi-task and stay on course is like none other! Besides her job and her school work, Sabrina is also a peer reviewer for a health education honorary journal, and the lead behind the creation in 2007 of an undergraduate scholarship award for minority students at the UCLA School of Nursing.

Sabrina is a passionate advocate for persons living with HIV/AIDS, particularly women. Last year, she helped organize a three hour learning institute focused on women and HIV/AIDS at the 2008 Ryan White All Grantee Meeting. In addition, she has led a HRSA effort to create a quilt recognizing the strengths of women living with HIV/AIDS.  She is a fierce and loyal advocate and community volunteer to help other underserved populations, as described briefly below.

Since 2000, Sabrina has volunteered for McKenna’s Wagon, a mobile soup kitchen program at Martha’s Table, Washington D.C.  The program operates seven days a week, 365 days a year. Teams go out into the Washington D.C. community and provide free sandwiches, soup, desserts and beverages to the city’s homeless population. Sabrina volunteers with a church group the first Sunday of each month to help with this activity.

More recently, Sabrina has begun volunteering at Calvary Women’s Shelter in Washington D.C., a nonprofit organization that provides housing and support services to homeless women. She has taught two classes on nutrition and emotional wellness to the women residents and has been asked to continue teaching on a monthly basis. On an international level, Sabrina has sponsored a young girl and her family in Zambia since 2003. Sponsorship provides for basic health necessities, medicine, and clothes. Sabrina loves writing to her sponsored child and receiving letters and photos back!

Sabrina remains dedicated to help the underserved, especially women, in her personal and professional life.  She is always willing to listen, to lend a hand, and to go the extra mile. Therefore I highly recommend Dr. Sabrina Matoff-Stepp for the 2009 Women’s Health Hero award.

Contest Administrator Note: Add 9 votes to the total below — entry was accidentally posted twice and we consolidated the votes and comments.

My Health Hero – and all-around hero – is Mary Lou Ballweg, co-founder, organizer and President and Executive Director for the last 29 years of the Endometriosis Association, an international organization with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but an influence as wide as the world.

Mary Lou has carried the endometriosis torch for almost three decades, bringing this mysterious disease out of the Dark Ages and into the light, out of the closet and up for discussion and investigation, improving the lives of millions of women and their families and our global public health.

I would not be the least surprised if you are asking yourself, “Endometriosis – what’s that?” This disease is one of the most widespread conditions in the world, but one of the least-known and understood. In the late 1970s, Mary Lou didn’t know a thing about endometriosis either. She was a successful young career woman who had recently left the position of managing editor of Investor, Wisconsin’s Business Magazine to launch her own film and communications company.

She was a rising star with tremendous energy and a bright future when she suddenly became seriously ill with endometriosis. After numerous physician consultations, Mary Lou received an endometriosis diagnosis, but instead of being offered a cure, or even some viable treatment options, she was left with more questions than answers. Frustrated by the lack of awareness and the dismissive attitude she frequently encountered among medical professionals, in 1980 Mary Lou founded the Endometriosis Association (EA).

Today, it is conservatively estimated that 89 million girls and women from all racial and socioeconomic groups around the world have endometriosis. Endo, as it is often called, strikes those as young as eight and, contrary to popular belief, it can and often does continue to cause symptoms well past childbearing years. While doctors and health researchers once believed that endometriosis affected only a woman’s reproductive system – and only in “career women” – thanks to Mary Lou’s unflagging focus on the need to educate physicians, patients, and the public, we now know that endo is a challenging, widespread, and puzzling hormonal and immunological disease with proven links to toxins in the environment.

Despite its obscurity, this disease can and does bring dramatic and life-altering consequences to women’s lives, frequently causing debilitating chronic pain and infertility and a lifetime increased risk of allergies, asthma, and eczema, as well as a greater chance of developing autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, and many types of cancer, including ovarian tumors.

I am one of those estimated 89 million women, one of at least four in my family who have been diagnosed with endo. But I am one of those “lucky endo patients” who have benefited in so many ways from Mary Lou’s unstinting vision and focus on this puzzling disease that carries the burden of NO easy treatment options; NO cure; diagnosis possible only with laparoscopic surgery – NO quick blood or urine test; major societal taboos (yes, we talked about sex, but not if  it hurt); little awareness and huge misconceptions, even in the healthcare community – no “walks for the cure” and no pink ribbons; and little or no understanding by the adjunct parties who we had to depend on, like the insurance companies who often told (and probably still tell) endometriosis patients, “We’re not going to pay for ‘elective’ hormonal treatments” — how those of us who have suffered through the side effects and expense of complicated and sometimes experimental medical regimes and surgeries wish we could just “say no” to the whole business.

I tell a bit of my personal endo story here not because it’s particularly interesting or extraordinary, but precisely because it is typical of so many women’s story. I hope that understanding just a bit of someone’s story may help others see how far we have come in conquering this mysterious disease, largely because of one woman’s refusal, on behalf of millions of others, to accept the unacceptable.

At age 56, I have “known” endometriosis most of my life, though I didn’t know its name until I was finally diagnosed at age 31, almost 20 years after my first period. Body-wise, my most dominant memories of those two decades are still of periods so long, heavy, unpredictable, and painful that more than once my boss found me white-faced in pain and curled into a ball on the floor of my office; of painful sex and pelvic exams (angry nurse: “Move down on the exam table – this can’t possibly hurt”); and of years of monthly conception disappointment, followed by confidence-stealing “advice” from the medical community and the lay press that I should be able to conceive if I would just relax. Ironically, it was my husband – an engineer with little interest in biology or medicine – who, in 1983, came home one day and said, “I think I know what you have – endometriosis.”

He had heard a radio program on endo, a program which I probably resulted from Mary Lou’s work to raise public awareness. My husband thought that the endo symptoms described on that radio show matched mine perfectly. I had already seen two well-regarded gynecologists for my fertility and menstrual problems, but neither had ever mentioned endo as a possible cause of the painful periods and difficulties conceiving. And so I saw my third gynecological specialist, who agreed with my husband that endo was likely causing my symptoms, but surgery was needed for confirmation.

Not more than a month after surgical diagnosis, my boss told me about a friend who had been recently diagnosed with endometriosis. This woman, Cheryl, had been talking with some women in another state who had organized some sort of support group for women with endo. Just a couple of months later, I was benefitting from a support network in my area and a source of reliable information on a national level. Our local group continued to hear about Mary Lou, a little about her own endo story, but mostly about her efforts to educate and support other women, work that began in the early 70s when she helped found and organize the Margaret Sanger Community Health Clinic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This clinic for low-income women broke new ground in healthcare advocacy, a path that Mary Lou follows to this day.

Fast forward to 1998: Despite two term pregnancies and having breastfed both my babies at least a year, some of my endo symptoms had returned. After much indecision, I finally decided in 1998 to have a hysterectomy for a multitude of reasons. The doctor expected a routine short surgery, possibly to be done vaginally, but instead found endo adhesions all over my pelvis, so “routine” turns into long and complicated, followed by a difficult recovery. Hysterectomy did not cure the endo.

Until recently – and again, like many others, I continued to experience painful ovarian cysts (I fully understand the expression “sweating bullets” as that is what these cysts can feel like at their worse), a not-uncommon consequence of endometriosis. And like millions of others, I live with the uneasy knowledge that I have a much greater risk of developing other chronic painful conditions and various deadly cancers. I have seen the these linked consequences firsthand in my own relatives and also in my husband’s sister who had endometriosis and died at age 47 of rare neuro-endocrine tumor.

Back to Mary Lou’s story: One of the initial steps she took in the early 1980s on behalf of the rest of us was the creation of the world’s first database of women with endometriosis. This database laid the foundation for research opportunities and led to partnerships with the Medical College of Wisconsin, Dartmouth Medical College, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Vanderbilt University Medical School, where the Endometriosis Association’s program devoted to finding a cure is currently in its ninth year.

Widely recognized as an authority on endometriosis, she has published four books, overseen the production of three educational videos, developed and executed two million-dollar-plus educational awareness campaigns, and researched and written a steady stream of journal articles, chapters for medical texts, and newsletters. Despite having no formal medical training, Mary Lou is featured in the International Who’s Who in Medicine as the person most singularly responsible for calling attention to endometriosis.

Mary Lou Ballweg’s modest demeanor and unassuming presence belie the magnitude of her accomplishments, and few would ever guess that this soft-spoken, compassionate intellectual is the powerhouse behind one of the leading women’s healthcare nonprofits. Because the debilitating and potentially disabling effects of endometriosis are not widely understood, the majority of the Association’s work is supported by those of us who have a personal connection to the disease. One of the local supporters is the Quadracci family, who have contributed a million dollars. While that sounds like big money, the majority of the organization’s funds support medical research, an expensive, long-term undertaking.

For the most part the Endometriosis Association operates on a shoestring budget. The thriftiness of the organization is reflected in the comments of Stella Capek, Professor of Sociology, who says, “I have rarely seen an organization that so effectively makes such extraordinary global contributions by doing so much with so little. No resource ever goes wasted at the EA.” Capek, who is considered an authority on social change movements, also points out that the Endometriosis Association has “an inspiring record of accomplishments far out of proportion to its small base of operations.” It has inspired those of us who look for ways to support women’s healthcare to dig as deeply as we can – we know that not a penny will be wasted and that its spending will fund “the important stuff.”

We all continue to benefit from Mary Lou’s story of empowerment, dedication, compassion, and hard work. She has enabled women like me to lead happier, healthier lives and fulfill dreams that we didn’t believe possible. She has pushed and pulled the research community to make discoveries that have changed the very landscape and horizons of environmental health and that have advanced women’s healthcare on numerous fronts.

Through her personal and professional commitment to the other 89 million, and despite having to live with her own personal and painful “endo story,” Mary Lou Ballweg has given the world three great gifts (1) An understanding of endometriosis, its causes, and its potentially broad, long-lasting, and devastating consequences – not just for the women with endo, but for all of us; (2) An unstinting determination to find the resources and the will to discover and develop both a noninvasive diagnostic technique and a cure for endo; and (3) The realistic hope and possibility that our daughters’ daughters will have to ask, “Endometriosis – what was that?”

JoAnne stands out as a women’s health care hero due to her creation of BirthLink, a Chicago birth network.  Many expectant parents are overwhelmed with questions regarding their birth options and BirthLink helps them to link up with providers who match their needs and philosophies.  This network also helps to sustain the practices and livelihoods of these birth providers, and acts as a birth information resource easily accessible to anyone on the web.

Kate Winkler has been a midwife in Philadelphia’s health centers and hospitals for over 20 years. She represents the huge contribution that midwives make to the health of women and babies in the Philadelphia region. She worked at Booth Maternity Center, Temple Hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital and is currently at Greater Philadelphia Health Action’s South Philly clinics.

She provides health care that is infused with a sense of social justice and empowerment at a vulnerable time in women’s lives. She is guided by a strong inner sense of fairness that strengthens the women and families she cares for so tirelessly. She considers each woman’s individual needs and provides culturally sensitive care that honors the woman and her family. She personifies the “Midwifery Model of Care,” which is based on evidence and focused on the individual as part of a larger family and social system.

For the last three years, Kate has served a largely immigrant population in South Philadelphia. She spends countless hours advocating for her clients in large and small ways. She pays for phone cards so that women can try to get medical records from Mexico that would allow them to avoid unwanted repeat cesareans. She faxes information countless times, offers a shoulder to cry on and is always someone you can rely on.  She negotiates with physicians, county assistance case managers, family members, interpreters and managed care employees with great determination and always with a strong sense of what the woman wants and needs. She is quick to discard methodology that is proven useless and always questions new practices until she is really sure they are effective. Even on the craziest, worst day, she does not complain and maintains her wry, quiet sense of humor.

She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003 and has continued to work through a recurrence and its associated treatment for the last year. Her dedication to her work and her clients defines her. Even this horrible illness has not dimmed her enthusiasm and steadfast determination to help women.

Kate and I graduated from our Midwifery programs in 1988. We both began working in Philadelphia at the same time. Since the early 1990s, we have worked as colleagues in various settings. Currently, we work together at Greater Philadelphia Health Action. She joined my staff in 2005, which was when we began our Centering Pregnancy Program. This program offers group support, childbirth education and prenatal care in a culturally appropriate setting to uninsured immigrant women at the Southeast Health Center. It is a model program and Kate is largely responsible for its continuation and success.

Kate’s professional life has been devoted to helping women become empowered through pregnancy, birth and parenting. She has used her fluency in Spanish to help women talk about safety issues that often go overlooked in immigrant populations. She is nonjudgmental and always an advocate for reproductive freedom. She encourages women to take charge of their lives and gives them some tools to begin the journey. She represents the many, many midwives who care for poor women in the community health centers and hospitals of this country.

Kate is an unsung heroine and working with her has been one of the joys of my professional life. Her steady support and ready listening ear have been essential to me in the frustrating world of American health care.

I have observed many women struggle with cancer. Kate is an inspiration to all of us. She has a tenacious desire to live and has inspired many other women who she has met through her treatment. She continues to be a caretaker and nurturer through her own illness. She is realistic about her prognosis, but still has hope and grace with each roller-coaster ride of diagnosis and treatment. This nomination is inspired by Kate’s work as a midwife, but her attitude towards her illness typifies her inner strength and qualities. She has raised two wonderful, feminist sons who are now well-adjusted young men and is very proud of them. She never seeks recognition for her accomplishments, but she definitely deserves it!

JoAnne Fisher is not only my Women’s Health Hero, she wears that cape for every birthing woman in Pennsylvania.  This year she celebrates her 20th year as Executive Director of the Maternity Care Coalition.

MCC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the needs of mothers and their families visible through policy advocacy and research, and meeting those needs in the community every day through the outreach of teams of Community Health Workers.

Since 1989, JoAnne has raised MCC from a fledgling neighborhood project with a staff of 3 to a statewide organization with staff of over 70, and a budget of $116,000 to over $4.5 million. MCC’s programs include the operation of MOMobile outreach sites providing services to at risk mothers right in their neighborhoods including one in the Riverside Correctional Facility,  two Early Head Start locations, The Cribs for Kids program which provides safe sleeping options to families in need, the Smoke Free Mom’s initiative, and an HIV/Aids prevention program for at risk women.

In addition JoAnne leads MCC’s efforts to advocate for policies that support the women served by these programs – most recently through the report “Insuring Healthy Births” which she will present jointly with area mothers impacted by the faulty insurance system at a rally in Harrisburg at the Capitol Rotunda on Monday May 4th.

JoAnne says of her work, “Birthing is a powerful experience whether it results in a baby or an organization. I am grateful to have been a midwife to MCC, to work with passionate and talented people and to advocate for women and children every day.” Joanne’s own talent and passion are evident everywhere I go, when I say I work for MCC inevitably someone says “Oh, you know JoAnne Fischer?” Her reputation, energy and warmth precede her.

At a recent staff meeting JoAnne’s anniversary was recognized by those who work with her every day.  We were all invited to stand and convey our own experience of that warmth and vitality.  It was evident to me, even as a new member of the MCC community, that she had made an effort to connect with every woman (and the two men as well!) in that room.

I had my own experience of this: at another meeting I had the chance to contribute some of my own ideas – and shook like a leaf the whole time I was speaking because I was so nervous. When I got home that evening there was a message on my Facebook page (yes, JoAnne is on Facebook!) complimenting me on my effort and my ideas. It is a small thing, but when you consider how large a job she has, and how many people she takes the time to connect with in that way in any given day it is no wonder that her name is known far and wide.

I literally found out about this contest ten minutes ago and today is the entry deadline. If I had the chance I could compile story after story just like those tributes I heard at the Maternity Care Coalition staff meeting about what a fantastic leader and mentor JoAnne is. I know there is no better, stronger, more dedicated champion of the health of childbearing women than JoAnne Fischer and no one is better deserving of the recognition of the Our Bodies Ourselves community. Celebrate with us at MCC by joining with us to honor her 20th Anniversary year of serving the women of Pennsylvania!

I have served in communities for over 20 years and I have not met a more inspiring person than Susan Corrado, R.N. Susan is a deeply dedicated, hardworking, respectful, considerate and thoughtful individual willing to accept people in whatever circumstances they arrive, and assist them in creating more fulfilling lives.

Susan’s compassion for and commitment to her community gives me hope for our future. Susan works with residents of an extremely impoverished urban community, serving over 400 women (and over 200 men) annually. Her radiating smile, gentle encouragement and unflinching optimism are exactly what’s needed by the women she serves.

It’s a challenge to quantify Susan’s greatest contributions to the women in this community. Susan has worked especially hard to inspire, nurture, support and encourage the women in this neighborhood. She has created women’s empowerment groups, women’s healing circles, women’s relationship safety programs, single mothers’ support groups, women’s community building groups, women’s personal growth retreats, and women’s leadership development programs, as well as focused programs addressing women’s health concerns.

All of these special efforts are above and beyond the individual, one‐on‐one work she does with area women providing holistic health care from a parish nurse perspective.

While there are hundreds of stories about her work, one stands out in my mind…

The young pregnant woman living without food or electricity, trying to care for three other children, one with a seizure disorder, and unable to complete the paperwork to obtain benefits. Susan helped her obtain prenatal care, medical care for the child, food, transportation, and housing/eviction protection.

Additional comments of support:

There have been times over the years when I felt unable to continue working in this challenging community. By reflecting on the power of Susan’s work and her steadfast commitment, I have been inspired to continue my part, knowing that, by being able to offer even a small amount of support to Susan, a great many people will find their way to healthier, happier, more fulfilled lives. Susan Corrado is my women’s health hero.
–Sharon Younkin, Ph.D., Allied Wellness Center. President, Board of Directors

Susan has been an inspiration and hero to many people throughout the community. Here are some additional thoughts from residents of the Allied Dunns Marsh Neighborhood.

When my boyfriend and I moved into the neighborhood 2 yrs. ago she made us feel very comfortable. She steered us to the many resources available to us ( health providers, addiction support groups, food pantries, exercise groups etc.) While participating in activities I noticed how positive she continued to be even when participating was low, or participants did not follow the goal. Never has she showed any disappointment if she felt that way.

She has gained the trust of so many in the community and so many rely on her for guidance and motivation. Through her suggestion and guidance many people now are developing self‐worth, leadership skills and a track record of being dependable in this neighborhood. She has endless energy and seems to be involved and present in every committee in the neighborhood.

On the up side, through her work here Susan has a great vision for a wonderful, much needed new resource center.
-Shawna Cain

When I met Susan Corrado, I had many problems – diabetes, neuropathy, acid reflux and morphine dependency. Susan helped me get treatment for my medical conditions and my addiction. Then I had gall bladder surgery and was home recovering when I had some problems. The doctor didn’t worry, but Susan checked on me, took me to the hospital and stayed with me for hours until I was admitted. I had a life threatening condition and might have died if Susan hadn’t helped.

Susan contributes a lot to the community, beyond what is expected! Susan inspires us by being who she is. She is the best example I know. When we tell her our problems she gives us something positive to do. She says we have to make a plan before we run and do something. But if we do go and do the wrong thing, she still helps us. She doesn’t judge us. Someone said “When you meet Sue, color is not a big thing with her.” She treats us all the same. And she tells us the truth. You have to respect someone who tells the truth.
-Maxine Bryant

Susan C. is a very wonderful nurse on Allied Dr. She helps a lot of people. Every time I ask her for help or advice she gives it. She takes people to doctor’s appointments. I really like Susan a lot.
-Jeanine C.

She has a good heart
-Pauline J.

She helps were she can and she try to lead you in the right direction to get the help you need.
-Stephanie Williams