Dear Colleagues and Friends,

This past Friday, I had the distinct honor of accepting the Medical Society of the District of Columbia’s John Benjamin Nichols Award at their inaugural Capital Healthcare Honors, which spotlights those who strive tirelessly and selflessly to preserve the health and well-being of the nation’s capital. Accepting an award on behalf of Mary’s Center makes me immensely proud of each of you and the strong foundation built over the last 33 years under the leadership of our founder Maria Gomez.

We also received a few other remarkable tributes that speak to the quality of everyone’s work.

On April 7, the Washington Nationals recognized our very own Rolando Delgado, COVID Response Manager, as one of their 2022 Unsung Heroes at their opening ceremony. Then on May 4, Mary’s Center will receive the Innovative Research in Primary Care Award from the Weitzman Institute, a testament to the power of our Social Change Model. Elizabeth Hamilton, our newly promoted Vice President of Quality and Research, will be accepting the award during a virtual symposium.

We continue to honor Maria’s legacy with the launch of the Maria S. Gomez Scholarship for Nursing this Friday on National Nurses Day. Maria exemplified the values of nursing throughout her career, pouring her whole heart into her work, her team, and her community. The scholarship program is designed to help Mary’s Center’s entry-level staff build a pathway towards a brighter and more sustainable future.

Keep reading for many more celebrations and updates below in the newsletter, and as always, I welcome your questions or feedback at [email protected]. 

Thank you,

Tollie B. Elliott, Sr., MD

Chief Executive Officer

After several months of preparation, our partnership with Howard University College of Dentistry launched last week to address the national oral health care crisis among older adults.

Funded by the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, the program will promote the connection between oral health and overall health and create greater equity in the care and treatment older adults receive.

Ana Flores, Dental Hygiene Assistant, is featured in the announcement video!

Jennifer: All of us grew up in Washington, DC

Jennifer: We got along pretty good. Three of my sisters are half sisters and we didn't connect until we were older.

Jennifer: So we all got referred by different friends or family members, but I have been here the longest - 11 years now.

Jennifer: It feels awesome knowing that we grew up nearby Mary's Center and my mom was a patient, and now working for the organization is a blessing.

Jennifer: We don’t see each other often but when we do we laugh and we loved going to the holiday parties for Mary’s Center.

All of our Maryland staff for achieving the goal set by the Maryland Primary Care Program Booster Campaign. We were tasked with increasing boosters among our eligible participants in Maryland and we exceeded the goal by 10%!

Austyn Holleman, Perinatal Mental Health Program Coordinator & Therapist, for reaching our 100th referral for the Volunteer Doula Program. We have a network of around 60 volunteer doulas to support any pregnant Mary's Center participant. Contact Austyn at [email protected] for more details.

Interested in becoming a doula? Our partner GracefulFusion is offering scholarships for their upcoming birth doula training this month. Learn more.

The WIC Team for running such a successful pilot for the new eWIC card that DC Health has now transitioned all local WIC agencies to the EBT card. The success of the pilot also prompted a visit from the USDA, scheduled at the Petworth WIC clinic this month.

Katie Williams, Perinatal & Family Health Program Manager, for being personally invited to join the DMV Regional Maternal Infant Health Coalition, a group working to address unequal health outcomes for pregnant people in the area.

Felix Hernandez, Advocacy and Fatherhood Program Manager; Andrea Agalloco, Perinatal Mental Health Program Manager; and Ana Rosas, Director of Operations, for testifying in Annapolis for the Healthy Babies Equity Act, which later passed the Maryland General Assembly. Going into effect in July, the bill directs Maryland Medicaid to cover pregnancies regardless of immigration status.

Special thanks to Ari Holland-Baldwin, Advocacy & Policy Associate, for leading our efforts to advocate for life-saving legislation like this one.

Georgette Saad, Senior Early Childhood Manager, for co-authoring a publication in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Read the article.

Yudith Portillo, Child Tax Credit Outreach Worker and WIC Nutritionist Assistant, for supporting many families over the last few months with filing taxes to claim their Child Tax Credit.

Stuart Butler, Mary's Center Board Member (and former Chair), for being included in the Washingtonian's Most Influential People list for the second year in a row.

Our own Eva Sweeney, Nurse Manager of Facilitated Telemedicine, recently spent a few weeks volunteering overseas with an organization called MTI to assist Ukrainian refugees, and she shared with us this unique experience.

Prior to becoming a nurse, I worked in refugee resettlement. A lot of my experiences there drew me to nursing and once I became a nurse, I wanted to continue my work in that context as much as possible. MTI has given me the opportunity to do so and I was able to join them this year as they responded to the humanitarian crisis in Moldova/Ukraine.

I helped to set up a health clinic in a refugee transit center. I also was part of a mobile unit team, who traveled to different sites to provide care to refugees. We mainly saw women, children, and the elderly and responded to mostly primary/chronic care needs.

Thank you, Eva, for your courage and compassion!

Submit any updates or exciting news from you or your team to next month's newsletter by emailing Michelle Shapiro at [email protected].

May is Older Americans Month, and in addition to our new partnership with Delta Dental and Howard University for oral health, we are thrilled to have so many other exciting developments with our older adult programs and services.

Any DC residents over 60 can access the mental health and other SWC services once they join by filling out an application, available for pickup at the SWCs. A medical clearance is needed to attend exercise classes.

The SWCs can provide an opportunity for Mary's Center's older adult participants to engage in many activities from exercise and nutrition classes to quilting, card playing, and more, and address the isolation and loneliness many older adults experience.

If you have any questions, contact Elizabeth at [email protected].

Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month from 8:30-9:30am. All staff are welcome! To join, contact Tania Hindert at [email protected].

In honor of National Pet Day on April 11, we shared photos of our staff's four-legged family members on Instagram. Thank you to all who submitted your cute photos! Get to know your colleagues' furry pals below:

Sierra Kelly, Social Media Specialist, (and her pup Stella) for giving our loving pets their well-deserved 15 minutes of fame!

Staff, families, participants, and community members are all welcome to join on Saturday, May 14 from 1:00-4:00pm to commemorate 10 years of serving our Prince George’s County community!

This celebratory event will include a fun mix of family games and activities, food, and a variety of health screenings and services.

Special thanks to our event sponsors:

Mary's Center was out in full force at the Petworth Recreation Center a couple weekends ago, including our COVID Response Team, Public Health Outreach Services team, the All of Us Research Program team, and Briya.

Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (bottom left photo) even stopped by to say hello! Thanks to the many staff who made this event a huge success.

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month! The IDEA Racial Equity Subcommittee is recruiting volunteers to help plan a virtual Open Voices event for Mary's Center and Briya staff to celebrate AAPI Month. Anyone interested in joining can reach out to Elizabeth Hamilton at [email protected] or Felix Hernandez at [email protected].

A new episode of "Cafe con Carlos" is here, featuring Sara Hourwitz Skram, Director of Individual Giving!

In the podcast, EVP of Administration Carlos Marroquin and Sara discuss aquariums, introverts vs. extroverts, Jerusalem, and the renaissance our Development team is experiencing.

Johana Campos, Breastfeeding Counselor, welcomed Ruby Quintanilla on April 24.

On the right, Ruby is held by her proud grandma Rubenia Salgado, who also works at Mary's Center as an Environmental Services Worker at Fort Totten!

Hiwot Asfaw, Senior Accountant II, got engaged to David on April 16.

"Big thank you to all PCNs! For making the difference, for your hard work, your dedication, your flexibility, your energy, your support, your new ideas in how to improve the daily work flow, for your willingness to support the whole staff; when it is full, when it is not easy, when we are short of staff, when multiple requests have been asked, when other projects have been assigned to you! We wouldn't be able to do anything without you all."

Celebrate this Mother’s Day by donating to Mary’s Center in honor of a mother or motherly figure in your life! To make this gift even more personal, send them a special Mother’s Day e-card to let them know of your contribution. Donate and send your e-card here.

You can donate and send an e-card for all occasions, whether it’s to recognize a loved one’s birthday or to simply let a loved one know that you have donated in their honor.

Last month the Development Department released the Spring 2022 Connections Newsletter, featuring articles on the Eat Well, Live Better! Senior Nutrition Program, the Community Engagement Council, and the newest additions to our Board of Directors.

Didn’t receive a print copy? Check out the digital version here. If you’d like to sign up to receive future printed versions, fill out this form.

The Development department is recruiting for three positions! Please spread the word about these openings and even refer your own candidates – there is a $500 referral bonus once your candidate has been employed for 6 months. Check out all job openings here.

Briya student Marlene Arias Gutierrez was named the 2022 Outstanding Adult Student of the Year from the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE)!

“Through my education, I was able to fight for my people and win,” Marlene said. “I am here because I was the student who never talked in class, but who was invested in by her classmates and teachers.” 

Read more about Marlene here, and watch her award acceptance speech here.