Honorees, including philanthropists, volunteers and health professionals, will be recognized at Dec. 2 virtual event
The Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County (HCF) announced today that Sue Campbell and John McKinney will be honored with the Wetzel Community Leadership Award as leaders in healthcare philanthropy at the Foundation’s annual Wetzel Awards.
Nurse and healthcare mentor Yudith Vargas Dominquez will be honored as well with the Spirit of Wetzel Award, which recognizes emerging leaders for their commitment to health equity and social justice.
This year the ceremony will be held virtually on Dec. 2, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Community members who wish to join the Healthcare Foundation in honoring Campbell, McKinney and Dominquez can register for the free event at bit.ly/2020wetzelawards.
Each year, the Wetzel Community Leadership Award is given to individuals who demonstrate a commitment to improving healthcare in our community.
“Sue Campbell and John McKinney have been working diligently on behalf of the Sonoma County community with many different organizations for many years,” said Healthcare Foundation board chair Scott Hafner. “They are emblematic of fellow citizens who wake up each morning and ask, ‘what can I do to make our world better?’”
Together, the couple has supported the Foundation’s mission since their move to Healdsburg in 2006, lending their time and talent to ensure health access for everyone living and working in the Healdsburg area. Along with her philanthropic contributions, Campbell has served as an executive board member of the North Sonoma County Healthcare District. For years, Campbell has worked in this position to support Healdsburg District Hospital financially and most recently was involved in developing the strategic partnership with Providence St. Joseph.
The partnership was recently approved by voters through the passage of Measure BB and will ensure the hospital remains a Critical Access Hospital for the next 30 years.
Campbell is also a board member with the American Association of University Women, and helped start the local GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math, and Science) program.
Like Campbell, McKinney is deeply involved with the community.
He served as a board member and is the current treasurer for Alliance Medical Center. He also volunteers with Canine Companions for Independence and is an advisory council member to the Sonoma Land Trust.
Both Campbell and McKinney donate their time to the local Boys & Girls Club, Healdsburg Forever and Farm to Pantry.
Melita Love, founder of Farm to Pantry and one of last year’s Wetzel Award recipients, is thrilled to see Campbell and McKinney honored.
“They know that healthy food is key to good health for us as individuals and for us as a community; through their generosity of gleaned produce year after year, they have provided thousands of servings of fresh apples, pears, persimmons, peaches and blood oranges to those with limited access to healthy food,” Love said.
This year’s recipient of the Spirit of Wetzel Award, Dominquez is the newly appointed Director of Nursing for OLE Health and is committed to bridging the gap for the underserved and most vulnerable individuals in our area.
Born in Mexico, Dominquez immigrated to the U.S. when she was three. She was inspired early on by an uncle who was a physician in Mexico and felt strongly about providing health access to the community in which he grew up.
Since her youth, Dominquez has volunteered and worked to provide healthcare to other immigrants and to individuals with limited access to care.
At 14, she began volunteering with Santa Rosa Community Health and today she continues to give her time and shares her professional experience as a nurse to the Latino Health Forum and Los Cien. Both organizations provide educational opportunities and create dialogue with the goal of increasing health access, civic engagement and leadership development within the Latinx community.
This year’s Healthcare Foundation Wetzel Awards event is open to the public and will be held live via Zoom and simulcast via Facebook Live and Youtube. Speakers will include event sponsor Katie Wetzel Murphy, board chair Scott Hafner and executive director Kim Bender. Additional testimonials will be shared by David Anderson, MD, Healdsburg District Hospital board secretary; Daisy Cardenas, Mental Health Talent Pipeline recipient; Terry Leach, health attorney and registered nurse; Karissa Moreno, executive director of the Center for Well-Being; Paige Mazzoni of Canine Companions for Independence; and Wanda Tapia from the Latino Health Forum.
-Submitted by Kim Bender, Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County
