Dr. Means named a Robert Wood Johnson 2010 Community Health Leader

Dr. Means accepts the RWJF 2010 Community Health Leader Award

Dear Friend,

I’m so pleased to announce that on August 12, Dr. Roseanna Means was selected to receive the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation 2010 Community Health Leaders Award. This prestigious award is given annually to ten leaders who have created innovative improvements in community health care.

Ten years ago, Dr. Means started this organization with a vision of bringing free, quality health care to women in shelters. Since that time, she has worked day and night to make that vision a reality. Along the way, she has touched countless patients, co-workers and volunteers with her warmth, optimism and can-do spirit. Congratulations, Dr. Means, on this well-deserved honor!

This award gives national recognition on the incredible work of Health Care Without Walls (HCWW), it also includes a grant to empower significant growth. We look forward to sharing news of our progress each month in our Enewsletter.

Sincerely,

Joseph P. Morray, Jr.
President of the Board
Health Care Without Walls

The Doctor Is In: Q & A with Dr. Means
 

How will the 2010 Community Health Leader Award affect Health Care Without Walls?

It definitely raises our profile, and it shines a spotlight on our model of providing care for homeless women. We’ve proven that it’s possible to provide appropriate, quality health care by meeting women where they are at–both literally and figuratively. If someone else can learn from what we’ve done, and implement the same concepts in other cities, that would be a huge success.

The grant funding that will allow us to restore some part-time nursing positions that we were forced to cut during the recession, and add a new Director of Operations. We will be able to reach more vulnerable women and children, and train more young doctors and nurses about poverty medicine and the impact of community service. However, it does not mean that we can relax and coast along! We still need help from our donors to provide 10,000 free clinical visits and 4,000 case management activities that we log every year.

How did you get chosen for this award?

I was nominated by the folks at Atrius Health Foundation. Ann Marie Frakes, who was on their Development staff, volunteered with us this past winter, and she started the nomination process. From the hundreds of nominees, I was one of 15 finalists. Foundation representatives came and did a site visit, so they could see what we do, and get a feel for how effective it is to provide care for homeless women directly  in the shelters. I was one of 10 awardees that were chosen by a national committee.

What is the best way for supporters to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Health Care Without Walls?

We hope everyone will save the date, and join us for our anniversary celebration on March 4, 2011. Making an anniversary gift to Health Care Without Walls makes a tremendous difference. Or come and work with us, spend some time either in our administrative offices, or help in the shelters. You don’t have to be  a nurse or a doctor—we have lots of opportunities to help. I guarantee you’ll learn something, and you’ll leave knowing you did something that matters.