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Two volunteer physicians, two members of a community service club and a hospice volunteer were among this year’s recipients of a 2012 Healthcare Hero award from the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD).

Now in its sixth year, GHD’s Healthcare Hero awards program recognizes and rewards front-line volunteers, caregivers and other individuals who help advance the delivery of health care and improve the quality of life for East County residents, said Debbie McElravy, GHD 2011 board president. Recipients of a 2012 Healthcare Hero Award included:

-- Harry Bair of La Mesa began a “Vet-to-Vet” program that honors veterans under San Diego Hospice care. In a ceremony often witnessed by out-of-town family members, Bair, a Korean War veteran, will personally present the veteran with a special commemorative pin and a printed statement that thanks them for their service. The 80-year-old retired insurance agent also has walked dogs and delivered pet food to hospice patients unable to care for their four-legged family members. He also has served as a photographer and has accompanied Santa on personal visits to the homes of terminally ill children.

-- Dr. Robert Eisenberg is a practicing urologist with Urology Specialty Associates in La Mesa, but he volunteers for Project Access San Diego (PASD), a San Diego County Medical Society Foundation volunteer physician program that has helped more than 1,500 uninsured patients receive specialty medical care through a network of volunteer physicians, hospitals, surgery centers and other ancillary health services. Since joining PASD in August 2010, Eisenberg has been one of the program’s most active volunteers, seeing several patients every month.

-- Dr. Steven Golbus is a retired physician who volunteers for Volunteers in Medicine (VIM), a non-profit agency that operates a free medical clinic at 1457 E. Madison Ave. in El Cajon. Before his retirement, he practiced medicine for more than 30 years, specializing in nephrology and internal medicine. He has served at VIM for the past five years as a primary care provider. In addition, he serves as VIM’s co-medical director. He is among more than 100 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses and staff volunteers, who donate thousands of hours to about 3,000 patients annually at the VIM clinic located behind Chapel of the Valley United Methodist Church.

-- Alpine resident Carol Lewis volunteers at more than 50 events annually hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Alpine. She has volunteered at blood drives and fundraisers for Rady Children’s Hospital and the American Cancer Society. She also serves on County Supervisor Dianne Jacob’s Building Better Health Leadership Committee and chairs the Mountain Empire Collaborative. Lewis also founded the annual Foster Family Respite Day at Santee Lakes featuring a day of fun sports activities and games for foster kids and support and encouragement for their families.

-- La Mesa resident Henry McAdams, nominated by the Grossmont Hospital Foundation, chairs the La Mesa Lions Club’s Sight and Hearing Committee that recycles eye glasses, hearing aids and cell phones. He has recruited and organized more than 60 East County volunteers who have collected more than 31,000 pairs of used eyeglasses. Henry then personally sorts the eyeglasses, which are delivered to a distribution center in Vallejo, Calif., and then the eye glasses are shipped to third-world countries for needy people.

The 2012 Healthcare Hero awards were presented on a luncheon held on Wednesday, May 16, at Sycuan Resort in El Cajon. Event emcee was Alpine resident Marc Bailey, TV anchor with San Diego 6.

The Grossmont Healthcare District is a public agency that supports many non-profit, health-related community programs and services in San Diego’s East County region. Formed in 1952 to build and operate Grossmont Hospital, GHD serves as landlord of the hospital, including ownership of the property and buildings on behalf of East County taxpayers. The District is governed by a five-member board of directors, each elected to four-year terms, who represent more than 500,000 people residing within the District's 750 square miles in San Diego's East County. GHD also operates the Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, a public library specializing in health research information, located at 9001 Wakarusa St., La Mesa. For more information about GHD, visit www.grossmonthealthcare.org.
 

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