We salute our Health Care Heroes
BizTimes Media LLC presents a series of impactful public events throughout the year, and our calendar always wraps up with the Health Care Heroes Awards Breakfast.
It’s a perfect bow to wrap around our year and a gift-wrapped way to get into the holiday spirit.
Every year, we are amazed by the contributions of our Heroes to the quality of life in our community.
This year, we are saluting Heroes who are making a difference in so many ways.
The Grand Achievement Award this year goes to Dr. Howard Jacob and his team of doctors at the Medical College of Wisconsin. They made medical history by becoming the first in the world to map the sequence of the DNA of a human being and use the information to make a diagnosis and treatment plan. The groundbreaking work saved the life of 6-year-old Nicholas Volker. Jacob is now sharing his knowledge with doctors around the world.
Once again, BizTimes is blessed to have a devoted panel of judges for our Health Care Heroes Awards program. These judges, who are so generous with their time and their commitment to this program, include: Phyllis King, Ph.D., associate dean, professor and associate director of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Ergonomics; Heidi Mayer, executive director of the Lutheran Home Foundation; Karen Ordinans, executive director of the Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin; Dr. Sarah Pratt, a pediatrician who is the past president of the Medical Society of Milwaukee County and a past member of the Wisconsin Medical Society Board of Directors; and Connie Roethel, R.N., wellness expert and president of Core Health Group in Mequon;
I want to thank our event sponsor, Humana, for once again recognizing the value of this program and the inspiration these Heroes provide for the community, as well as supporting sponsor E-Freight Courier.
Finally, I want to thank each of our Health Care Heroes. We present their stories and this special program as holiday gifts to our readers.
Dan Meyer
Publisher, BizTimes Milwaukee
Grand Achievement Award
- Dr. Howard Jacob, director of the Human & Molecular Genetics Center and the Warren P. Knowles Chair of Genetics at Medical College of Wisconsin
Nursing
- Sharron Coffie, registered nurse, Froedtert Health/Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee
Physician
- Dr. Charles Lanzarotti, cardiac electrophysiologist, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
- Dr. Robert Rohloff, pediatrician, Children’s Medical Group-Southwest Pediatrics in New Berlin
Community Service
- Dr. Jim Sanders, assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin and director of the International/Community Medicine Track at Columbia St. Mary’s Family Health Center in Milwaukee.
- Shelli Marquardt, executive director, Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph Foundation in Milwaukee
Volunteer
- Dr. Michael Johnstone, M.D, volunteer medical director, St. Ben’s Clinic for the Homeless
- Cheryl Lingle, hospice companion and Final Hours Volunteer, Horizon Home Care & Hospice
- Kae Buelow, bereavement outreach volunteer, Horizon Hospice-Grief Resource Center
Advancements in Health Care
- Dr. Husam H. Balkhy, director of the Center for Robotic and Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery for Wheaton Franciscan –The Wisconsin Heart Hospital Clinical Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin
- Dr. William Pennington, orthopedic surgeon Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, Orthopedic Institute of Wisconsin
Corporate Achievement in Health Care
- Jane Cooper, chief executive officer, Patient Care
Health Care Staff
- Kim Melcher, coordinator, Wisconsin Well Woman Program, State of Wisconsin
- Angela Sawyer, medical assistant, Aurora Advanced Healthcare
Stories written by: Steve Jagler, Andrew Weiland, Alysha Schertz and Molly Newman
Photos by: Paul Gaertner, White Dog Photography
