FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Palm Healthcare Foundation Honors Community Leaders and Healthcare Professionals

Working Together for the Future of Healthcare

WEST PALM BEACH, FL. – On December 14, 2007, supporters, grantees and healthcare professionals gathered at Atlantis Country Club in Lantana, Florida, for Palm Healthcare Foundation’s annual Commitment to Community Awards.

The luncheon brought out some of Palm Beach County’s leaders in the healthcare industry and featured the announcement of the 2007 Commitment to Community honorees. Each year the award is presented to individuals who provide outstanding leadership and have made significant contributions to strengthen healthcare in Palm Beach County. This year’s honorees include: Sally Chester, MS, RN, long-time nurse and community volunteer; Susan Dyess, RN, MS PhD ©,, project director of the Novice Nurse Leadership Institute, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL; and Barbara Jacobowitz, MS, executive director of the Treasure Coast Health Council.

With over 35 years in nursing and healthcare, Sally Chester has directed organization-wide education departments at several healthcare organizations and participated on teams which have championed community change projects. She has served as a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examiner in the health care sector and is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Among her volunteer activities, Chester chairs Palm Healthcare Foundation’s scholarship committee, co-chairs the Palm Healthcare Foundation Nursing Distinction Awards judging committee, serves on the steering committee of Leadership Palm Beach County’s Ethics Initiative, is a judge for the Economic Council’s Dwyer Awards for Excellence in Education, is an executive volunteer for the Center for Non Profit Excellence, and has served as past president of Leadership Palm Beach County.

As project director of the Novice Nurse Leadership Institute, Susan Dyess, works tirelessly to assist and support new nurses as they transition from school to the workplace, enhance their knowledge base and skill sets, and promote the value of lifelong learning and leadership in nursing. She has been involved with nursing education for over fifteen years and has worked in a variety of practice settings, including, critical care, oncology and faith community nursing. Dyess is a board member of The Interfaith Health and Wellness Association and The Governors Council on Community Health Partnerships and is a member of the Palm Beach County Community Health Alliance.  

Barbara Jacobowitz, executive director of the Treasure Coast Health Council for the past eleven years, is a well-recognized leader in the healthcare community. As the first Chair of the Palm Beach County AIDS Consortium, she was the principle author of the first Ryan White Title I grant and was recognized by the Board of County Commissioners in 1985 with a Certificate of Appreciation for her efforts in establishing the Palm Beach County HIV Services Planning Council. Barbara was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Palm Healthcare Foundation in 2001 and is co-Chair of the foundation’s Grants Distribution Committee and a member of the Policy and Advocacy Committee. She has recently been elected to the position of Diabetes Alliance Liaison to the Governor’s Diabetes Advisory Council and is the past Chair of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Health and Human Services to the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners. 

“We know there are so many outstanding individuals who display compassion, devotion, integrity and leadership that serve as an inspiration to others. It is such an honor to recognize these individuals for all they do for our community each day, ” said Suzette W. Wexner, president of Palm Healthcare Foundation, Inc.

About Palm Healthcare Foundation, Inc.

Palm Healthcare Foundation, Inc. was chartered in 2001 as an independent community healthcare foundation. Believing that “Together We Can Do More,” the foundation’s mission is to transform healthcare challenges by bringing together the talents and resources of the community to create innovative solutions that deliver high-impact results. The Foundation’s funding priorities—access to healthcare, healthcare quality and safety, healthcare technology, healthcare policy and healthcare workforce—are designed to empower non-profit healthcare organizations and healthcare professionals to create programs and services that improve the quality of life for Palm Beach County’s underserved citizens.  Since 2001, the Foundation has distributed more than $20 million to over 80 non-profit organizations in Palm Beach County operating over 130 programs that met its funding goals.  To learn more about Palm Healthcare Foundation, please visit www.palmhealthcare.org.