Seniors Who Serve

Marion Senior Services honors all-star board members Juanita Cunningham and Biddie Kirk for decades of devotion.

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By Katie McPherson

Marion Senior Services works to help elderly, disabled and disadvantaged members of the community maintain their independent living status through transportation services, meal delivery and in-home support. None of this would be possible without dedicated and compassionate volunteers.

Juanita Cunningham and Biddie Kirk are nothing if not dedicated and compassionate. Anyone who needs evidence of their service need only review the numbers—Mrs. Cunningham has served on the board for over 30 years and Mrs. Kirk for 21.

But their devotion goes beyond years served. While occupying their leadership roles, they’ve made extra efforts along the way to ensure seniors in the community have everything they need. For Kirk, this meant delivering well-balanced meals to recipients’ homes for the meal delivery program, which provides over 400 meals daily.

“I drove one route every third and fifth Tuesday. I had 10 or 12 individual stops. I think they welcome the driver and are glad to see somebody, and of course, if you find someone having a major problem, you let the office know immediately, so that’s good because it’s kind of like a well check,” she says. “That’s our main mission—to be able to help seniors stay in their homes and provide the services that enable them to do that.”

Cunningham became involved in the organization after being invited to a meeting in the ‘80s.

“Being the person that I am, I’m always concerned about the persons who fall in the category of the less fortunate because I too was less fortunate growing up. When I learned of the many things Senior Services was doing for the aged, the sick… there were so many people who were not getting a good meal. I was ready to do what I could do,” she recalls.

During her service, Cunningham chaired the membership committee for many years and did her part to secure community contributions used to furnish the Marion Senior Services building after its construction.

“I knew of a lot of churches where they had members who were recipients of services from Marion Senior Services. We called on them, sat and talked with them and they made contributions,” she recalls.

Both women were honored in April at the Reilly Arts Center during the Marion Senior Services All Stars recognition event.

“Board members are vital to any nonprofit organization and are charged with a number of responsibilities, including establishing mission statements, setting guidelines for policies and procedures and acquiring sufficient resources to ensure organization operations,” says Marion Senior Services’ Executive Director Jennifer Martinez. “These women should be celebrated for their contributions, not only to Marion Senior Services but to our community as a whole. Their beautiful grace has extended far beyond our services, touching lives everywhere they go.”

Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. During a rigorous on-site review, Joint Commission experts evaluated Seven Rivers Regional’s compliance with strokerelated standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement.

“Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of stroke patients through its Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers,” said Michele Sacco, M.S., interim executive director, certification programs. “We commend Seven Rivers Regional for becoming a leader in stroke care, potentially providing a higher standard of service for stroke patients in its community.”

A Job Well Done

Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) is pleased to announce that Dr. Vipul Patel and Dr. Meera Iyengar have been nominated by the North & Central Florida Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as Man/Woman of the Year for 2016. After an intensive nominating and vetting process, these two outstanding community leaders accepted the challenge to engage in a spirited competition to raise funds for blood cancer research and earn the coveted title of “Man/Woman of the Year.”

Brad Prechtl, CEO of FCS, said, “So many of our physicians go far beyond their professional commitment of treating cancer patients by agreeing to support fundraising efforts such as this. It is a testimony to the level of compassion and care our doctors have for their patients.”

Selfless Giving

In a private ceremony, Ann Amato was recently honored for her 30 years of service to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point. For three decades she has been volunteering at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point and is usually the face that greets you at Welcome Center A on Wednesday afternoons. In her years of service, she has logged in an excess of 9,200 hours.

“Her dedication, commitment, loyalty and service to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point is insurmountable,” said Donna Owen, manager of volunteer services, who presented Ann with her award.

High-Tech Health

Ocala Health is the first in greater Marion County to offer Mako Partial Knee Replacement and Mako Total Hip Replacement procedures, performed using the Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Surgery System. The Mako system is a surgeon-controlled robotic arm system that enables accurate alignment and placement of implants. The robot will be used at Ocala Regional Medical Center by orthopedic surgeons on staff at Ocala Health. The Mako system enables surgeons to personalize partial knee and total hip arthroplasties to achieve optimal results at a level of accuracy and reproducibility previously unattainable with conventional instrumentation.

Bigger & Better

The College of Central Florida has received a grant for $416,032 from the Marion County Hospital District to renovate the Marion County Dental Clinic at the CF Hampton Center. The funds are part of a $1.9 million grant package that will develop local health care programs. With its portion of the grant, CF will add five chairs/dental stations, increasing to 13 total. With the added seats, the clinic will be able to provide more than 6,000 adult dental treatments annually, an estimated increase of 215 percent. CF partners with the Department of Health in Marion County to provide dental care to underserved populations and hands-on training to students in the CF Dental Assisting program.