News

Highlights from 20th Anniversary Events

October 8, 2015

20th Anniversary celebration October 1 & 2, 2015 Wyndham, El Paso Airport Hilton

Paso del Norte Health Foundation celebrated its 20th Anniversary with three events recognizing the individuals who helped to form the original Providence Hospital, Providence Memorial Hospital and the Health Foundation.

Legacy Event – October 1

Descendants of Dr. and Mrs. M.P. Shuster and the founding board of Providence Memorial Hospital joined us for an afternoon reception to honor those that contributed to improving the health of the people in the border region for over 100 years. Attendees received a 40 page monograph outlining the history of Providence Hospital and the first twenty years of the Health Foundation. Touched by the remembrance of their parents and the work done to improve the health of this community, Frances Roderick Barnard and Mary Olga Barnard Garcia offered a generous donation to the Health Foundation in honor of their parents – Dorrance and Olga Roderick. Myrna Deckert, CEO of the Health Foundation, announced that the Health Foundation’s REALIZE Leadership program would be dedicated in honor of Mr. Robert H. Hoy, Jr., the first chairman of the Health Foundation and founding board member of the Paso del Norte Foundation.

Anniversary Event – October 1

More than 400 guests joined the Paso del Norte Health Foundation board of directors to celebrate the anniversary of the Health Foundation, its accomplishments, and to hear about emerging projects for the future. Sally Hurt-Deitch, Market Chief Executive Officer of The Hospitals of Providence, welcomed attendees and emphasizd the importance of partnerships to create systemic change in the health of the region now and into the future. Dr. Abraham Verghese spoke on the importance of “care” and empathy for those serving in the health care professions. Dr. Verghese was a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in El Paso. He practiced medicine at Thomason Hospital from 1991 to 2002.

Grantee Event – October 2

The Health Foundation also celebrated the anniversary with past and current grantees to thank them for their hard work and dedication to promoting healthy behaviors. More than 150 grantees joined in the breakfast celebration, with guest speaker U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke. Congressman spoke about the role of leadership to create change for a better community and the need for improved behavioral health services for veterans in the El Paso area.