|
Washington - U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) today announced that he has nominated Dr. Katherine Seibert for a "Local Legends" award. Seibert is the Chief of Medical Oncology at Catskill Regional Medical Center (CRMC), chairwoman of the hospital's Cancer Committee, and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College. She developed CRMC's Cancer Care Program.
"Dr. Seibert's contributions to our community have been unparalleled," Hinchey wrote in his letter of nomination. "The development of such a sophisticated cancer center in a rural area has offered patients the ability to get treatment in their hometown. She embodies the highest ideals of the medical professions."
Local Legends is a joint project of the American Medical Women's Association and the National Library of Medicine with the goal of celebrating the lives and achievements of America's women physicians. Members of Congress were asked to nominate physicians deserving of special recognition for their outstanding contributions to medicine. Nominees must demonstrate commitment, originality, innovation, or creativity in their field of medicine; have made an exceptional contribution to the image of women in medicine; and be involved in patient care, public health or health policy, research, education, or military service. All physicians nominated will be recognized on a website, and one woman from each state will be featured as a Local Legend. Only Members of Congress may make nominations.
When Seibert first came to Sullivan County, the region did not employ a single medical oncologist. The Cancer Care Program she developed offers a comprehensive program providing treatment to inpatients and outpatients with all types of cancer. Under Seibert's leadership, the Cancer Care Program received the highest possible accreditation for cancer centers by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, a rating achieved by just one in five hospitals.
Siebert has organized annual Women's and Men's Health Days, sponsored an annual "Celebration of Life" picnic for cancer patients and their families, developed a breast cancer awareness program that offered free and reduced mammograms, and established a "Medication Fund" to help patients who could not afford needed pharmaceuticals. On her vacation, she and her dog Chester, a trained therapy dog, volunteer at Camp Adventure, an American Cancer Society-sponsored camp for children with cancer. |
|
