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Local Humanitarians Are Honored for Acts of Outstanding Public Service

Jefferson Award Celebration Recognizes 11 Community Heroes

Thursday, January 21, 2010

On January 21, from 11:30 am – 1 pm, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will honor 11 individuals at the annual Jefferson Award Celebration at the Kingsgate Marriott Hotel. The individuals, who are also employees or volunteers at the medical center, are being commended for their acts of outstanding public service.

The Jefferson Awards were established in 1972 by former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard, a program chair for each of the last seven Presidents of the United States, as part of the American Institute for Public Service, to be a “Nobel Prize” for public and community service. In 2008 Cincinnati Children’s became only one of 27 Jefferson Awards corporate champions in the U. S. and one of two in the city of Cincinnati to honor individuals each month for acts of outstanding public service.

Together, these humanitarians have dedicated thousands of hours of community service over the course of 30 years and are still reaching out to those who are in need. Some of the award winners have and continue to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House and Tender Mercies. One of them, Bea Lampkin, MD, started the GLAD House, an organization that aims to improve the lives of children and their families by breaking the cycle of addiction and promoting mental health among children. Several of the award winners take mission trips to ensure the health of children and adults throughout the world. Two of the award winners, who are married, have volunteered nearly 17,000 hours of love, time and hard work to Cincinnati Children's.

At the end of the calendar year the national Jefferson Awards for Public Service Board of Governors selects one winner from all of the corporate champions to become eligible for one of two national Jefferson Awards. In June 2008, Victor Garcia, MD, director, Trauma Services, Cincinnati Children’s, was honored with one of the national Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C., for his help in founding the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV).

The 2009 Jefferson Award winners and their communities are:

January - Tammy Williams, MD, - Brookville, IN; February – Geralyn Azizkhan – Indian Hill; March – Sue Ryckman -West Chester; May – Nancy Roberto –North College Hill; June – Marlene and Dick Sellens - North College Hill; July – Flo Higgins - Milford; August – Dr. Bea Lampkin - Montgomery; September – Cathie Marshall -Anderson; October – Carole Price– Cleeves; and December – Susan Wiley, MD, - Clifton.

No awards were given in either April or November.

For more information about the Jefferson Awards celebration, please contact Lynn Hall at 803-6073 or send an e-mail to lynn.hall@cchmc.org.

About Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is one of 10 children’s hospitals in the United States to make the Honor Roll in U.S. News and World Reports 2009-10 Americas Best Children’s Hospitals issue. It is #1 ranked for digestive disorders and is also highly ranked for its expertise in respiratory diseases, cancer, neonatal care, heart care, neurosurgery, diabetes, orthopedics, kidney disorders and urology. One of the three largest children’s hospitals in the U.S., Cincinnati Children’s is affiliated with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and is one of the top two recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health.

President Barack Obama in June 2009 cited Cincinnati Children’s as an island of excellence in health care. For its achievements in transforming health care, Cincinnati Children’s is one of six U.S. hospitals since 2002 to be awarded the American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize for leadership and innovation in quality, safety and commitment to patient care. The hospital is a national and international referral center for complex cases. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.