Cheers Big and Small Given Five Healthcare Heroes—for the Fifth Year

The ceremonies were over. The salmon and chicken buffet had been devoured and 6-minute video applauded.  No more need for public proclamations in a crowded clubhouse full of local VIPs.

But as Jake Shuk strolled quietly across green grass to a gazebo photo shoot, Ron Pennock put his hand on Shuk’s shoulder and said: “You guys have the biggest hearts. Doing a great job.”

The guys got their due Wednesday as the Grossmont Healthcare District saluted Shuk of La Mesa and four other Healthcare Heroes in the fifth annual luncheon at Sycuan Resort honoring volunteers for decades of work with the sick, poor and elderly.

Shuk, a La Mesan since 1976, was honored for his service as a spiritual counselor and Eucharistic minister at San Diego Hospice.

He was joined by retired Navy nurse Patricia Bull, a La Mesan since 1993, who helps Volunteers in Medicine; Ruth Anfangar of San Carlos, a 40-year volunteer with Meals on Wheels with Jewish Family Services of San Diego, whose kosher route includes La Mesa; and two medical doctors—plastic surgeon Michael John Halls and Philip “Flip” Szold, a pediatric specialist and 12-year board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of East County.

Pennock works for state Sen. Joel Anderson, and his unadorned attaboy to Shuk was the feeling of close to 200 luncheon guests at Sycuan, southeast of El Cajon.

At an estimated cost of $5,000 to $6,000, according to CEO Barry Jantz, the Grossmont Healthcare District treated dozens of local officials to hot buffet and warm jokes from KUSI weekend weatherman Dave Scott (a Grossmont High School graduate), who introduced a slickly produced video by Louie Stevens of Films You Feel  showcasing the five heroes.

Among the lunch bunch were La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid and Councilman Ernie Ewin (chairman of the district’s bond oversight committee), Grossmont Union High School District Superintendent Ralf Swenson, Grossmont College President Sunny Cooke and representatives of Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, Assemblymen Marty Block and Brian Jones, who came bearing resolutions and certificates.

But the main spotlight was on the five Healthcare Heroes, who rode a wave of applause as they stood from their tables and, one at a time, approached emcee Scott and the five members of the Grossmont Healthcare District board to receive their plaques, hugs and handshakes.

This year’s heroes brought the total number honored since 2007 to 25.  The charter five included three La Mesans—Bill Pogue,  George Dillon and Monica Zech—and a Spring Valley resident, Kenneth Umbarger.

Nominations are solicited from around the 750-square-mile district served by Sharp Grossmont Hospital—and many smaller operations funded by the district.

Board members Gloria Chadwick and Michael Emerson, along with event conceiver Bob Yarris, are among those serving on the Public Relations & Outreach Committee that picks the heroes.

Chadwick and Emerson said Wednesday that they used a point system to rank the nominees, so “it’s not a popularity contest,” she said. “It’s their commitment and what they’re doing for East County residents.”

Points are given for unpaid years of volunteer service, for example.

“It was hard this year,” Emerson said after the hour-long luncheon. “There’s a lot of vetting.”

Said Healthcare Hero Bull, 59: “It’s humbling. It’s nice to be recognized. But I would say that everybody [who] was here doesn’t do it for the recognition. They do it to support whatever organization they’re volunteering for.”

Snapshots of this year’s honorees, provided by district spokesman Rick Griffin:

• Ruth Anfangar has been delivering meals to homebound seniors and younger disabled adults for the past 40 years. Using her own car and gasoline, the 83-year-old San Carlos resident has driven an estimated 40,000 miles during the past four decades and dedicated several thousands hours in volunteer service on behalf of Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFSSD) and its Foodmobile program.
• Patricia Bull of La Mesa is a retired Navy nurse who has volunteered over the past four years at a free medical clinic operated by Volunteers in Medicine (VIM), a nonprofit that brings together medical professionals and patients who don’t have health insurance. Her experience has helped streamline operations and increase services to patients at the clinic in El Cajon, according to VIM officials.
• Dr. Michael John Halls is a plastic surgeon on staff at Sharp Grossmont Hospital and Alvarado Hospital who co-founded Doctors Offering Charitable Services (DOCS), a San Diego-based nonprofit agency that provides reconstructive surgery and continuing care to unfunded, needy patients otherwise unable to obtain treatment for disfiguring medical conditions and severe injuries. Halls not only donates about one dozen surgeries a year but also recruits other physicians and coordinates partnerships with hospitals and clinicians to facilitate additional surgeries depending on patient needs. Some patients include victims of accidents, abuse, war, and disease.
• Jack Shuk of La Mesa is a volunteer spiritual counselor and Eucharistic minister who has volunteered more than 1,000 hours since October 2007 with San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine. A former Franciscan priest, Shuk works directly with hospice patients and their families at SDHIMP’s 24-bed facility for patients whose pain or symptoms can be best managed in a medical setting. He worked on staff at SDHIMP from 2001 until his retirement in September 2007, and then began volunteering the very next month.
• Dr. Philip “Flip” Szold has practiced pediatric medicine in the East County since 1977. His passion in preventing childhood obesity and promoting active living has led him to volunteer for the past 12 years on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of East County. He has served as BGCEC’s board president and chairman of the annual East County Children’s Ball fundraiser, and is currently chairman of “It Just Takes One,” a fundraising campaign.