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Thea Luiten, RN, and students
Health Trust Announces Winners of 2010 Phil Rather Award for Leadership in Health Care
The Board of Directors of the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust (Health Trust) is proud to announce it has selected two winners for the 2010 Phil Rather Award for Leadership in Healthcare this year. The honorees were Thea Luiten, RN, Classroom Teacher at the Watsonville High School Health Academy and the Child and Family Development Programs (CFDP) of the Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center (SCCCC).
On May 19th, before a crowd of more than 100 guests, the Health Trust honored the winners at the Rather Award reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the foundation’s community conference space at 85 Nielson Street.
“We are very proud of these awardees and the leadership they provide to strengthen the community’s health,” said Trust Board Chair, Donna Ramos, who served as emcee for the recognition event.” Both winners have made an important difference in the lives of Pajaro Valley residents that will have a lasting affect.
The awardee honored in the “individual” category was Ms. Luiten or “Ms. Thea” as she is known to her students. Kathleen King, CEO of the Health Trust, recognized Ms. Luiten’s for her outstanding leadership, citing her role at the Health Academy as a both an inspiring clinical classroom teacher and mentor for students pursuing their dreams to work in the health care industry. “We are especially grateful that Ms. Luiten’s work has had a direct impact on the Health Trust’s goal of promoting entry and advancement in the health professions for our local youth,” Ms. King said.
The Child and Family Development Programs (CFDP), the winner in the organizational category, is one of four divisions of its parent organization, the Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center. Dr. Barbara Palla, a pediatrician and member of the Health Trust Board of Directors, praised the CFDP for its leadership in integrating a wide range of services promoting health, access to care and well-being for Pajaro Valley families. “We are proud to recognize CFDP and all they do through programs like Head Start, Early Head Start, PAPAS and others, to support local families and foster a safe an healthy environment for our young children," she said.
The Health Trust created the Phil Rather Award for Leadership in Healthcare in 1999. The award was inspired by its namesake and first recipient, Phil Rather, whose volunteer leadership in health care spanned more than 30 years in the Pajaro Valley. The Rather Award recognizes and honors individuals and/or organizations in the community whose contributions of time, effort and/or philanthropy have helped make a difference in the quality of our community’s health care.
Child and Family Development Programs (CFDP) of the Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center (SCCCC). Front row from the left: Deutron Kebebew, Denise Gannon, Lorena Gonzalez. Back row from the left: Lynn Lauridsen, Maria Rodriguez-Castillo, Herendida Garcia, Terry Jimenez, Maricela Fernandez, Diane Goldwasser, Carolyn Coleman.
Previous Recipients of the Rather Award
- Phil Rather
- The DiCicco Family of Watsonville
- Dr. Janet Bell
- Bonnie Gutierrez
- Jorge Sanchez and the Watsonville Community Hospital Service League
- Salud Para La Gente
- Ed and Doris Mann and Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz County
- Mary Boyd and The Central Coast Alliance for Health
- George Wolfe, M.D. and the Youth Resource Bank of Santa Cruz County
- Kathleen Kilpatrick, RN at Watsonville High School and the Healthy Kids program of Santa Cruz County
- Ginny Solari Mazry and Mary Solari of the Richard and Mary Solari Charitable Trust and Jovenes SANOS
For more information about this event or the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust, please contact Kathleen King, CEO, 831-761-5639.
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