St. Catherine Laboure Medical Clinic Names Two to Board of Directors

DOYLESTOWN, PA, December 17, 2010 (Press-News.org) St. Catherine Laboure Medical Clinic will add two prominent Philadelphia business leaders to its Board of Directors as it begins its 11th year serving Philadelphians without health insurance. M. Brooks Turkel, Chief Executive Officer of Chestnut Hill Health System, and labor and employment attorney Ralph J. Teti, a partner with Willig, Williams & Davidson, will assume full board responsibility in January 2011.

The announcement was made by St. Catherine Laboure co-founders Dr. Sheila Davis and Michele Samsi, PA-C, who operate the clinic as Executive Medical Director and Executive Director, respectively. Open only to Philadelphia-area patients without health insurance, the clinic provides low-cost medical care including medications, vaccines, health education and social support. The clinic was founded in November, 1999.

"Our work is heavily reliant on community support and it is a huge step for us to add leaders of the caliber of Brooks Turkel and Ralph Teti to our governing body," said Davis. "Board development is critical in the non-profit world and we see this as a key step in sustaining our ability to serve needy Philadelphians for another decade," added Samsi.

Turkel, born and raised in Philadelphia, brings more than 20 years of healthcare management experience with a background that includes large teaching hospitals and both non-profit and investor-owned health systems. He joined Chestnut Hill Health System, a part of the University of Pennsylvania Community Health Network, in 2006 after serving as Chief Executive Officer of MacNeal Health Network in Berwyn, IL, a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Chicago.

Teti, also a lifelong Philadelphian, focuses his practice on union-side labor and employment law and is considered by his peers as a leading authority on federal and state election law and regulation. He was recently honored with City of Hope's Spirit of Life Award, the highest honor City of Hope bestows on individuals for their philanthropic endeavors. The award recognizes a lifetime of personal and professional achievement and is presented to outstanding philanthropists who exemplify City of Hope's mission through their actions.

Davis and Palos-Samsi launched the clinic with the mission of providing uninsured Philadelphians with the professional and dignified care that is given to those with insurance. Davis is a graduate of St. Joseph's University and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Palos-Samsi is a graduate of West Chester University and Hahnemann University.

The clinic annually handles over 3,500 visits from patients who suffer from diabetes, blood pressure issues, heart disease, depression and other ailments. The clinic provides vital follow-up care for patients released from local hospitals and emergency rooms. Because of the high-quality, comprehensive care given at St. Catherine's, these patients do not return to emergency rooms for routine care, and annually less than five percent will require hospital level care.

The clinic is funded by individuals and corporate foundations. It receives no support from government funds. St. Catherine helps the bottom line of taxpayers and hospitals by reducing the uninsured patient flow to emergency rooms, where hospital services are one-time only and costly. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the clinic (www.clinicforuninsured.com) is located at 5838 Germantown Ave. in the Germantown section of the city.

On March 17, 2009, the clinic was awarded the 12th Annual GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Award for excellence in community healthcare as determined by a panel of local and national healthcare experts based on success in healthcare delivery, commitment to public service and excellence in community leadership.

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