BizTimes Media announces the recipients of the 2011 Health Care Heroes Awards.
The annual awards honor southeastern Wisconsin people and organizations who are making a difference on the front lines of health care.
The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges in the health care field.
The Health Care Heroes will be profiled in the Dec. 9 edition of BizTimes Milwaukee magazine and at BizTimes.com.
The awards will be presented to the recipients at a breakfast program on Friday, Dec. 9, at Boerner Botanical Gardens. The program will begin at 7:30 a.m.
The public is invited to attend the uplifting program, which celebrates the accomplishments, commitment and compassion of the Health Care Heroes. To register to attend, visit www.biztimes.com/hero.
The 2011 Health Care Heroes are:
BizTimes Grand Achievement Award
Dr. Howard Jacob, director of the Human & Molecular Genetics Center and the Warren P. Knowles Chair of Genetics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Jacob and his colleagues were the first in the world to decode the sequence of the DNA of a human being and use the information to make a diagnosis/treatment plan. The work saved the life of 6-year-old Nicholas Volker.
Nursing
Sharron Coffie, R.N., Froedtert Health/Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. Coffie goes above and beyond the call of nursing to provide mentoring to nursing students and improve cardiovascular outcomes among minorities in the community.
Physician
Dr. Charles Lanzarotti, cardiac electrophysiologist, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, Glendale. Lanzarotti became the first doctor in Wisconsin to offer Cryoballoon treatment for patients suffering from symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).
Dr. Robert Rohloff, pediatrician, Children’s Medical Group-Southwest Pediatrics in New Berlin. Rohloff provides groundbreaking care coordination and parent education.
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. Sanders provides treatment for hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking among uninsured African-Americans in Milwaukee’s central city.
Shelli Marquardt, executive director, Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph Foundation in Milwaukee. Marquardt helped raise $10 million in funding to combat infant mortality and benefit the Safe Place for Newborns Program.
Volunteer
Dr. Michael Johnstone, volunteer medical director, St. Ben’s Clinic for the Homeless, Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee. Johnstone provides health care for the homeless in Milwaukee.
Cheryl Lingle, volunteer at the Horizon Homecare and Hospice in Brown Deer. Lingle has contributed 10,000 hours of volunteer service.
Kae Buelow, bereavement outreach volunteer at Horizon Hospice Grief Resource Center in Glendale. Buelow provides exceptional comfort to grieving families.
Advancements in Health Care
Dr. Husam Balkhy, cardiothoracic surgeon, Cardiothoracic Surgery Group. Balkhy has pioneered minimally invasive robotic heart surgery.
Dr. William Pennington, orthopedic surgeon, Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital and the Orthopedic Institute of Wisconsin in Franklin. Pennington performed a revolutionary new joint replacement surgery known as Arthroscopic Biological Resurfacing of the Humeral Head.
Corporate Achievement in Health Care
Jane Cooper, founder, CEO and president, Patient Care in Milwaukee. Cooper’s company has helped its corporate clients and their employees save more than $2.9 million in health care costs.
Health Care Staff
Kim Melcher, coordinator, Wisconsin Well Woman Program in West Allis. Melcher helps uninsured and under-insured women get access to mammograms, cervical cancer screenings and related treatments.
Angela Sawyer, medical assistant, Aurora Advanced Healthcare in Hartford. Sawyer provides exceptional care for patients.
