Molina Healthcare of Michigan recently celebrated the good deeds of six community heroes at its seventh annual Community Champions Awards. The ceremony was held at The Rattlesnake Club and included an invocation by Pastor Marvin Winans of The Perfecting Church.
This year’s winners included Dr. Richard J. Persiani from The Children’s Tooth Fairy Foundation, Dennis Williams from Detroit Medical Center, Nancy L. Stermer from Macquarie Equipment Finance, Dr. Elliott Attisha from Henry Ford Health System, Frank Woods, Jr. from Flint Housing Commission and Robert Blehm from Macomb Fresh.
“We proudly salute the hard work and dedication of these extraordinary individuals,” said Stephen Harris, president of Molina Healthcare of Michigan. “It was a pleasure honoring this year’s Community Champions award winners for the dedication and commitment they put into serving those in need in our communities.”
The Community Champions program celebrates the vision of Dr. C. David Molina, the founder of Molina Healthcare, as well as community partners who work together to care for society’s most vulnerable individuals. Each community champion was nominated by a community-based organization and also received a $1,000 grant to give to a deserving nonprofit organization of his/her choice.
THE 2013 COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS AWARD WINNERS:
Dr. Richard J. Persiani has dedicated 31 years providing dental care to children across the globe. He has traveled on medical/dental missions to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, China, Africa, Madagascar, Paraguay and Haiti providing both surgery and educational programs. Locally he works with The Children’s Tooth Fairy Foundation to provide dental care to underserved children living in shelters and foster care in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties. He donates his time, resources and services to treat children who would have otherwise never had the opportunity for dental care.
Dennis Williams has been volunteering in the Coalition on Temporary Shelter’s (COTS) kitchen for more than 23 years preparing thousands of meals for the homeless. While he works at the Detroit Medical Center and has a family at home, he volunteers three days a week and often rides his bike to COTS. He assists with stock, cleaning, meal preparation and meal service for the guests at the emergency shelter. It is estimated that over the course of his time with COTS, Williams has volunteered more than 4,000 hours of service.
Nancy L. Stermer is a dedicated volunteer and steadfast supporter of The Children’s Center, providing over 15 years of leadership. As Detroit’s children are some of the most vulnerable in the nation, Stermer has contributed her time and energy to ensure children receive the care they need; whether it be health care, mental health care or assistance for other challenges faced by families living in poverty. Last year Stermer’s projects included beautifying The Children’s Center garden area, coordinating a back-to-school donation drive to provide 466 free backpacks to children and volunteering her time at The Children’s Center Holiday Shop wrapping presents for children in need.
Dr. Elliott Attisha works as medical director of the Henry Ford Health System’s Ford Health System’s mobile medical clinic, HANK (Health Alliance of Neighborhood Kids), which is virtually a doctor’s office on wheels. With fifty-nine percent of Detroit’s population living in medically underserved areas, Dr. Attisha and his team are able to bring a variety of health care services to children where they spend most of their waking hours – in school and youth community centers. His compassion for the youth he sees means that children who once had no primary care physician to call their own, now have a medical provider who is dedicated to their well-being. As president-elect of the School Community Health Alliance of Michigan and an executive committee member of the Council on School Health, American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Attisha is able to influence change on a broad scale to break down barriers to medical care for Detroit’s children.
Frank Woods, Jr. has been a voice for the homeless in Genesee County for over five years. As the founder and director of the One Stop Housing Resource Center, Woods centralized key resources that helped to effectively shape the lives of homeless and near homeless individuals. It is because of Woods’ leadership that governmental and community agencies now work together to help these individuals’ live more productive lives. Woods has used his influence to bridge gaps between community based organizations and faith based organizations in order to bring vital resources to the homeless and underserved in Genesee County.
Robert Blehm has a passion to change future generations by changing the way today’s youth think about food and the way they eat. He is leading the charge to put fresh fruit and vegetable gardens on Macomb County elementary and middle school properties. The intent of these gardens is to introduce fresh produce into school cafeterias and summer backpack programs for children in need. To date, the program has 15 participating schools in one of the largest school districts in the state. The goal is to establish 45 such gardens in five years and continue to show students the full spectrum of nutrition from planting the seeds in the classroom garden to seeing the produce they were responsible for growing on their school cafeteria lunch trays.
Photo ID (left to right): Frank Woods from Flint Housing Commission, Stephen Harris, president of Molina Healthcare of Michigan, Dr. Richard J. Persiani, from The Children’s Tooth Fairy Foundation, Nancy L. Stermer from Macquarie Equipment Finance, Heidi McGlinnen from Molina Healthcare of Michigan, Mary Syiek from Molina Healthcare, Inc., Dr. Elliott Attisha from Henry Ford Health System, Dennis Williams from Detroit Medical Center, and Robert Blehm from Macomb Fresh.
About Molina Healthcare
Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH), a FORTUNE 500 company, provides quality and cost-effective Medicaid-related solutions to meet the health care needs of low-income families and individuals and to assist state agencies in their administration of the Medicaid program. The Company’s licensed health plans in California, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin currently serve approximately 1.8 million members, and its subsidiary, Molina Medicaid Solutions, provides business processing and information technology administrative services to Medicaid agencies in Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, and West Virginia, and drug rebate administration services in Florida. More information about Molina Healthcare is available at www.molinahealthcare.com.