Volunteers Honored by Free Clinic of the New River Valley

December 10, 2008

The Free Clinic of the New River Valley honored volunteers in an appreciation reception on Thursday, December 4th and awarded special "Volunteer of the Year" awards to seven individuals for long-term commitment, leadership and activism. Sally Strauss, NP, received "Medical Volunteer of the Year" award. Strauss, a Professor in the School of Nursing at Radford University, came forward in 2007 and asked to begin a new service at the Clinic: children's school physical clinics. Strauss dedicates a day each week to assisting uninsured families with children by providing school physical exams so that the children can be enrolled in school more quickly.

Marcia Harris, MD, an emergency room physician at Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, is a volunteer at the Floyd Satellite. She was recognized with the "Satellite Volunteer of the Year" award. Dr. Harris - a Floyd native - is a truepatient advocate working tirelessly with the Floyd community and especially the Spanish speaking population of Floyd. Graham Hoskins, DDS, received the "Dental Volunteer of the Year" award for providing dental care to Free Clinic patients at the Free Clinic's Christiansburg facility and at his own practice in Radford for the past nine years. He typically works one evening a month at the Clinic until 10 p.m. providing needed pain relief and tooth restoration.

JoAnn Youhas, received the "Pharmacy Volunteer of the Year" award. 

Youhas has volunteered over six years - initially in the Dental Program and currently in the Pharmacy Program. She volunteers each week verifying that several hundred medications are accurately accounted for in the database. Tony Ramsey, NP - an Assistant Professor in Radford University's School of Nursing - has volunteered at the Free Clinic for three years and was honored with the "Nursing Volunteer of the Year"award. Ramsey has coordinated diabetic clinics for patients and he most recently started the first Migraine Clinic for Free Clinic patients. 

Beverly Fleming, a 5-year volunteer, was honored with the "Administrative Volunteer of the Year" award. Fleming has served as a data entry volunteer but currently comes in each week to provide medication pick-up assistance to patients who receive prescriptions on-site. Ward Stevens, Assistant Vice President for Development at VCOM, is the current Free Clinic Board Chairman and was presented with the "Board Member of the Year' award by Board Chair-Elect, Joan Hirt. Hirt recognized the steadfast work that Stevens has provided through several leadership positions since joining the Board in 2004 and emphasized his vast health care experience as a true benefit to Board guidance. 

"We want to thank all of our volunteers in the community for their dedicated work," states Michelle Brauns, Executive Director. "Their efforts are truly invaluable - we literally have hundreds of individuals who support our mission and we absolutely could not survive without their assistance."