ST. FRANCIS PRESENTS AWARDS AT ANNUAL DINNER

Robert Hendrix, chairman of the board of directors for St. Francis Medical Center, presents the medical center's first Courageous Patient Award to Dan Niswonger, a Cape Girardeau policeman injured while on duty.

St. Francis Medical Center honored achievement at its annual banquet Thursday.

Retired Circuit Court Judge Marybelle Mueller received the medical center's first Community Achievement Award, and Dan Niswonger, a Cape Girardeau policeman injured while on duty, received the first Courageous Patient Award.

The Community Achievement Award is to be presented annually to someone who makes a significant positive impact on the health and well-being of the people in the area.

"While she is not a health-care provider as such, her daily work and the decisions she has rendered have been in support of our patients and their families," said St. Francis President John E. Fidler.

Mueller has long been a supporter of mental health services in the area and has served as a member of the SEMO Regional Psychiatry Advisory Council. "Through her efforts, we were able to create community-based mental health centers here and in Sikeston," Fidler said.

The Courageous Patient Award was created to recognize one St. Francis patient each year who epitomizes the spirit and strength to overcome great obstacles.

"While many of our patients must endure some suffering, their pain is short-lived and their recovery comes quickly," Fidler said. "But for some, it takes great courage, perseverance and strength."

In 1994, Niswonger spent several months recovering from injuries he sustained while on duty as a Cape Girardeau police officer. He was a motorcycle officer and lost a leg because of a traffic accident.

"Dan rebuilt his body, day by day, one step at a time," Fidler said. "He was, and is, an inspiration to all of us."

A number of St. Francis employees and volunteers were recognized during the banquet, including St. Francis Employee of the Year Steve Smith; St. Francis Leadership Award recipient Marilyn Curtis; St. Francis Auxiliarian of the Year Opal Perkins; the Auxiliary's Baumstark Award winner Ann Drury; St. Francis Nurse of the Year Rosie Danker; Missouri Emergency Services Nurse of the Year Luann Pfau; and Missouri Hospital Security Officer of the Year for Exemplary Service Jim Roche.

St. Francis Medical Staff President Dr. James Chapman said 18 new physicians have recently joined or are about to join the staff. They are internal medicine physicians John Adams and Timothy Albers; oncologist/hematologists Celia Chan and Benjamin Yuen; cardiologist neuraradiologist David Anderson; cardiovascular surgeon Norbert Baumgartner; otolaryngologists Don Curtis Coonce and Janice Seabaugh; cardiologist Newton Coutinho; allergist Michael Critchlow; general/vascular surgeon J. Thomas Critchlow; plastic and reconstructive surgeon David Deisher; radiologist Mark Gates; orthopedic surgeons William Kapp and Walker Wynkoop; pediatric ophthalmologist Mary Beth Kapp; gynecologist/obstetrician Jonathan Thomas; family practice physician Richard B. Voszier.