CELEBRATING YEARS OF NCH - NCH Healthcare System

NCH COMMUNITY
NCH receives growing support
During the past few
weeks, NCH has received
numerous gifts for its patient
programs and awards for its
quality initiatives. The Quail West
Country Club Women’s Group,
Saks Fifth Avenue, and the Susan
G. Komen Cancer Foundation
have shown their enthusiastic
support for NCH’s mission to
provide comprehensive care to
all patients.
On February 1, the Quail
West Country Club Women’s
Group and Tiffany & Company
sponsored a successful fashion
show and luncheon to benefit
under-privileged mothers and babies. Pat Read,
Director of Women’s and Children at NCH North
Collier Hospital, talked about the need for basic
supplies, such as diapers, infant car seats, bassinets,
and baby thermometers. The group showed its
support by buying items from the “Baby Giving
Tree” totaling more than $34,000. Thank you, Kay
Gow, Patsy Carter, and all the ladies at Quail West!
Hurricane Wilma may have postponed Saks
Fifth Avenue’s “Key to the Cure” event, however,
thanks to the enthusiasm of Joanne Walsh and Kellie
Jacoby, Saks sponsored “Charity Recognition Day”
on February 16. Shoppers received double-points
and the NCH Regional Cancer Institute received
five percent of sales amounting to nearly $10,000.
The money raised will support clinical trials already
underway at NCH.
Thanks to efforts by Mary Ellen Masterson-
McGary, Ph.D., Chief Physicist, and Jennifer
Barolo, R.N., Oncology Research, the Southwest
Florida Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Cancer
Foundation recently awarded the NCH Regional
Cancer Institute with a $10,000 grant to purchase
a Horizon Prone Breastboard. This device provides
improved positioning (in the prone position) for
large-breasted women in CT planning and radiation
therapy treatments.
Introducing Melissa C. Felice
The NCH Healthcare Foundation
is proud to announce the addition of
Melissa C. Felice. Prior to joining the
Foundation as a Director of Development,
Melissa had the privilege of assisting
patients with discharge planning. She
worked on one of the medical floors
and in the Behavioral Health Unit as
a Social Worker. “My desire to work
in the Foundation was fueled by the
Melissa C. Felice
opportunity to see what amazing care
the NCH Healthcare System gives to patients and
their families,” she says.
Melissa graduated from Florida Gulf Coast
University with a Master’s in Social Work. She has
been a presenter at state and national conferences.
Melissa is involved with the American Association
of University Women and attends Lobby Day each
year in Tallahassee to speak with lawmakers about
social issues.
Like so many others, Melissa and her husband
Anthony decided to move to South Florida after
they vacationed here. The Felices have a two-yearold
son.
As part of the NCH Healthcare Foundation Team,
Melissa looks forward to sharing her experiences
about the amazing impact that the NCH Healthcare
System is having on the community, and telling the
NCH Healthcare story.
To reach Melissa, please e-mail her at melissa.
felice@nchmd.org or call (239) 436-4512.
8 PROGRESSIVE MEDICINE • SPRING 2006