Florida Blue has committed for a second year to serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2018 “Women With Heart” luncheon benefiting Volunteers in Medicine, a free healthcare clinic in Jacksonville that serves Northeast Florida’s working, low-income and uninsured individuals and families.
“Florida Blue’s mission is to help people and communities achieve better health,” said Florida Blue Market President Darnell Smith. “Partnering with Volunteers in Medicine enables us to realize our vision to be a leading innovator in fostering healthy communities. It is important to recognize the work and commitment of some of our community’s finest leaders.”
The 2018 “Women With Heart” luncheon presented by Florida Blue will take place on Feb. 7 at the Florida Blue Conference Center on the company’s Deerwood Campus. For the second year, the recognition luncheon will kick off a year-long celebration of 11 Northeast Florida women whose leadership, advocacy and generosity have greatly impacted so many in the community.
The ladies honored as 2018 “Women With Heart” are Dany Atkinson, Cheryl Barnett, Dr. Pam Chally, The Honorable Audrey Gibson, Leslie Gordon, Shelley Morgan, Silvia Pulido, Diane Raines, Dr. Estrellita Redmon, Melissa Ross and Dr. Elana Schrader.
“We’re proud to play a role in honoring this next group of amazing ladies for their dedication to some of Northeast Florida’s most vulnerable and often over-looked populations — our hard-working uninsured individuals and families,” continued Smith. “The inaugural year’s Women With Heart event and the subsequent monthly events customized and hosted by each of the honorees significantly impacted Volunteers in Medicine. The event not only increased awareness for the clinic’s mission and its innovative volunteer service model, but it raised over $125,000 that will support the clinic’s primary and specialty care services and programs. We are excited to join them for a second year and look forward to celebrating this impressive group of 2018 honorees.”
Volunteers in Medicine CEO Mary Pat Corrigan said the nonprofit is pleased that it can always count on the support of Florida Blue.
“Presenting 'Women With Heart' once again underscores their commitment to our patients and ensuring that everyone in our community has access to quality medical care,” said Corrigan. “They are a true partner in every sense of the word - they not only support us with vital financial contributions, but they also provide us with the invaluable gift of their professional expertise and guidance by providing talent to serve on our board and partnering with us to produce critical community outreach initiatives. Words can’t express our appreciation to Florida Blue.”
Volunteers in Medicine has more than 230 medical and non-clinical healthcare professionals who volunteer their time, which results in more than $1.2 million in free healthcare services for Jacksonville’s working, low-income, uninsured individuals and families. The clinic receives no federal funding and delivers at least $5 in services for every $1 donated, seeing patients five days a week, including Saturdays. For more information on Volunteers in Medicine, please visit www.vim-jax.org or call (904) 399-2766.
