The Caring Connection
Caring, Compassionate, and Committed to the Community
Fall 2016
Covering the Need for Women’s Health Care
In the United States, every six minutes a woman is
diagnosed with some type
of gynecologic cancer.
The key to survival of
these cancers is early diagnosis.
because they are in a situation in which they can’t
afford to buy health insurance. She believes women should not have to
chose between their
health and putting food on
the table or clothing on
their children’s backs. She
also enjoys practicing outpatient gynecology. CVIM
allows her to have a
small, intimate practice
with a wonderful team of
people who know each
patient as an individual
and who address both her
healthcare and her social
needs. “It is the wholistic
approach to care in a
small friendly environment
that is the heart of what
the clinic is all about and I
couldn’t ask for a better
environment in which to
practice.”
Dr. Kris Charles volunteers her time two days
NVRC 1/2 Marathon
each week to provide preDecember 4th
ventative gynecological
care as well as treatment
2520 Green Tech Dr
of various gynecologic
Suite D
conditions such as pelvic
State College, PA
pain, heavy periods and
16803
sexually transmitted infecPhone: 814-231-4043
tions.
Fax: 814-231-5274
CVIM and those who support CVIM continue to be
the answer for Centre
County women in need of
gynecological care.
Mission Statement
Centre Volunteers
in Medicine will
serve and advocate
for the medically
underserved residents of Centre
County.
Vision Statement
All Centre County
residents have access to medical and
dental care.
SAVE THE DATES:
Battle of the Minds
November 9th
A not so Trivial Event
been established for
some time.“ She adds
that “gynecologic problems may interfere with
a woman’s ability to
reach her potential as a
person, a parent, or an
employee if these issues
are not addressed. AddiOn June 30, 2014, Tapes- tionally, a woman’s
try of Health in Centre
County closed their doors
leaving a void in our area
for uninsured women between the ages of 18 and
64 to find care. Through
the generosity of the Centre Foundation’s Anniversary Giving Circle grant,
CVIM was able to purchase equipment and
supplies and took on the
task of providing “well
women” care.
Dr. Charles tells us, “A
well woman exam is
largely preventative care,
and it is much easier to
prevent a problem or diagnose it early rather than
to address it after it has
Dr. Charles along with
CVIM Board member Ira
Pell at the Flutopia 5K to
support CVIM.
heath can effect the
health of her future children and the chance for
birth defects.”
The core reason that Dr.
Charles volunteers her
time is that she feels
strongly that women
should not suffer long
term consequences of
preventable diseases or
treatable conditions just
Dr. Charles tells us, “My
goal would be that each
uninsured woman in Centre County would find her
way to our office and take
advantage of our services
so that she is healthy and
not facing a preventable
problem when she gets
her insurance back.”
Page 2
The Caring Connection
2016 Marathoner Takes on the Heat for CVIM Patients
Marathoners for Medicine participants not only dedicate time
and discipline to train for their
long runs, but then make the
time and efforts to raise funds
for CVIM.
Marathoner Mike Casper tells
us, “It was an honor to run in
support of CVIM. It contributed
to my own experience of the
race, and also humbled me to
recognize how lucky I am to
have good health and health
coverage, and that the person
in need of access to basic care
could be anyone.”
Jake and Sarah Clements, a
married couple with three
young children ages 5, 2, and1,
somehow find the time to go the
“extra mile” for CVIM patients.
While Sarah ran the Buffalo
Half-Marathon in under 2 hours,
beating her previous personal
best record set in the Nittany
Valley Running Club’s half by
over 2 minutes, Jake tells a different story…
For the first time ever I decided to volunteer to be a pacer. I
was assigned to the 3:30 marathon pace and I had a partner
helping me through the first
half. We had a nice slow start, I
was feeling great, hardly putting
in any effort, but it was very
crowded and I missed water at
the first stop and could not run
the tangents, which was annoying.
We got through 8 miles right at
64 minutes, which was perfect.
The large sign I was carrying
was getting cumbersome but I
still felt like I wasn't trying. I
missed Gatorade at 6 and 8 but
I did manage to get some water
and pour it on my head at both
of those stops.
At 11.5 miles my pacing partner pulled off the course to get
sick. It was all on me now. I
started telling the half marathoners to push on and kick it in
while telling the marathoners to
do the best they could to ignore
the crowds. I had a nice group
together at 14 miles, about 7
people. We plodded on, talking
together while the temperature
steadily rose to the high 70s.
This wouldn't be a problem in a
race in the late summer, but the
past few months we saw very
few temps above 60, and it was
very humid. These conditions
have always been a problem for
me and it has been hypothesized that I was born with a
faulty radiator.
As we approached the 17 mile
mark I knew I would not be able
to make it the whole way. At
17.5 miles I saw a guy passed
out in the road. He was on the
ground receiving CPR, and I
heard them say he wasn't
breathing and was unresponsive. The temp was rising and
the heat was starting to radiate off the roads, but there
was plenty of course support.
One simply has to use it and
slow down.
I got to 21 in 2:47:54 (right
on pace) and the fire in my
head made me want to pass
out, so I slowed down. I had
dropped my entire pace group
anyways. I crashed hard, running about 10 minute pace for
a few miles while I got my
body temp under control. I
told people as they passed
me that I was running behind.
One of my former pace group
folks caught me and told me I
shouldn't be telling people
that. He told me that I had
helped him to a great start
and that I did a good job, so
that felt awesome. I stumbled
in at 3:38:53, I felt horrible,
really low mentally, and it took
over an hour to feel normal
again . . I hate running in the
heat. I am of the opinion that
in this case the more time I
spent out there the worse the
heat was going to effect me.
Had I gone my pace instead
of the slower pacer pace, I
may have only had 2 miles of
hell instead of 5. Still, I would
try pacing again. It was fun
talking to so many people.
The Marathoners’ Team has raised
close to $600,000 for CVIM patients.
Left—Jake and Sarah Clements at the
Buffalo Marathon and Half-Marathon
Right—Long time Marathon for Medicine participant Tom Cali placed 4th
in his age group at Boston.
To Whom It May Concern…”Simple Thanks are not Enough”
I have received free volunteer
health and dental care from
CVIM for the last 3 years, from
about the time I turned 21. During such time, I have received
top notch coverage from a wellorganized, friendly and professional staff. The work that the
volunteers do is second to none
as far as standard of quality and
continuing care. The volunteers
are knowledgeable, benevolent,
and above all, compassionate.
I have a debt of gratitude to CVIM
that I will try to repay as best I can
by offering volunteer time out of
my own schedule. Simple thanks
are not enough for the selfless humanitarian efforts of this organization.
I recently qualified for health insurance, as my financial situation has
changed in such a way as to allow
these systems into my life. In a
way this is a bittersweet step forward in my life; I am making
strides to grow as an adult, and to
be able to provide for myself;
but it is a sad time that I must
start to look for someone else
to provide for my quality care.
I can only wish the absolute
best to all the volunteers and
donors involved in facilitating
this program. Without them,
countless people in the area
would not have anywhere to
turn.
Sincerely and affably,
An Ex-CVIM Patient
We Welcome New Board Members for the 2017 Fiscal Year
the essential services CVIM provides. CVIM is so meaningful to
those served, and it is a privilege
to have an opportunity to contribute.”
Penn State’s Director of Local
Government and Community Relations, Margaret Gray, whose
background includes delivery of
human services at the state and
local level said, “Access to quality
health care is so important, so
fundamental, and yet often a
struggle for many. CVIM serves a
vital role in the provision of basic
medical and dental care for many
The 2016-2017 fiscal year
brought six (6) new members to the CVIM Board of
Directors. When asked why
they joined the board these
new members had the following responses.
Donald Gaetano, Vice
President of Operation at
The Hartman Group has
been a longtime friend of
CVIM. He believes, “CVIM
provides a valuable and
necessary service to a
group of neighbors in our
communities that truly need
Centre County residents. It is
a privilege to join the CVIM
Board and I look forward to
being a part of this essential
agency.”
State College native and local
attorney, Rich Kalin and his
wife Sally are passionate
about their community. Rich
has served 12 years on the
board at Mount Nittany Medical Center and has served on
(continued on page 4)
Thank you for making a difference. (NOTE: You may also donate on-line at www.cvim.net.)
Enclosed is my gift of
□ $500
□ $250
□ $100
□ $50
□ $25
□ Other ___________
Name ___________________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________ State ______ Zip ______________
Phone _____________________________________ Email ________________________
Please charge my
□ VISA
□ M/C
or □ Check enclosed (payable to CVIM)
Credit card number ____________________________________________ Exp Date _________
Signature (required) ___________________________________________Security Code ______
Donations can be mailed to: CVIM, 2520 Green Tech Drive, Suite D, State College, PA 16803
2520 Green Tech Drive
Suite D
State College, PA 16803
Name
Street Address
City, State Zip
Community Partner Spotlight
HealthSouth Nittany
Valley Rehabilitation
Hospital in Pleasant
Gap, PA is proud to be
a CVIM community
partner. As an inpatient
and outpatient rehabilitation provider, HealthSouth recognizes the
importance of serving
those who are
uninsured and underinsured, and appreciates CVIM’s critical
role as a compassionate medical home for
those who need health
care.
Through community
events and volunteer
opportunities, HealthSouth employees
support CVIM’s role
as a community health
resource.
HealthSouth’s Chief
Executive Officer, Susan Hartman serves
as the chair of CVIM’s
Board of Directors.
HealthSouth employees are proud to be a
part of CVIM’s vol-
unteer team, that support efforts to keep
Centre County
healthy.
CVIM staff and volunteers say thank you to
Susan and all those
at HeathSouth for their
continuing support of
CVIM’s mission.
New Board Members...continued from page 3
boards of the Downtown
Improvement District, Mt.
Nittany Conservancy,
Food Bank, Schlow Library and was Chair of
the Centre Foundation.
We are grateful to have
Rich’s experience working for CVIM.
Lawrence Lokman,
Penn State’s President
for Strategic Communications, believes that no
one should do without
basic healthcare, ever.
Lawrence said,
“Healthcare is a starting
point to be able to work,
raise a family and lead a
happy and productive
life. I am so impressed
with the caring and
compassionate work of
CVIM staff and volunteers, and pleased to
join in support of their
efforts to lift our community to greater
heights. It was an easy
choice and a privilege
to join such an active
and capable board”.
Geisinger Health
System’s Associate
Vice President for Clinical Operations, Matt
Nussbaum, hopes
that his healthcare ex-
perience is a good way
to help CVIM. He believes that CVIM has
an enormous impact on
the health and wellbeing of our community
and stated, “CVIM fills
a very important gap in
our health care delivery
system in the region. I
want to make sure that
CVIM remains a source
for Centre County.”
Colleen Williams is
also an active community oriented State
College native. Colleen was the 2014
United Way Campaign
Co-Chairwoman. She
tells us she joined the
CVIM board because,
“No matter what you
make or where you
work, everyone deserves access to
healthcare.” Colleen is
the Business Development Coordinator
for Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc.
Each member brings
passion and expertise
to help support the
CVIM mission.