Venice Family Clinic CEO Elizabeth Benson Forer announced last week that Ana Zeledón Friendly, the Clinic’s associate director, will receive the Robert F. Allen Symbol of H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Through Empowerment) Award.
Chosen from a national field of nominees, Friendly is being honored for her significant achievement in serving the health promotion needs of underserved populations.
A native of Costa Rica, Friendly has been with the Clinic for six years and oversees the Clinic’s health insurance, child development, volunteer development and health education and community outreach programs, which includes enrolling poor people for public insurance as well as the newly inaugurated child development case management program that has been integrated into the Clinic’s pediatric services.
“Ana’s work in the field of health education and promotion contributes to the lives of our patients and to the well being of our community. She is an inspiration to our staff and board,” Forer said.
“We’re especially proud of her leadership in creating a new child development case management program that will track and identify the needs of families and develop treatment and action plans so that children have access to the support they need to achieve healthy development,” Forer added.
The H.O.P.E. Award was created to reward people who have dedicated themselves to assisting underserved populations, promoting cross-cultural harmony, disseminating innovative and effective health promotion strategies, and increasing the attention given to these efforts within the health promotion community.
Previous honorees include former Surgeon General David Satcher.
The award, which includes a sculpted crystal and a $3,500 check given by the American Journal of Health Promotion, is made in recognition of Robert F. Allen, founder of the Human Resources Institute, for his work in helping people to live harmoniously and achieve their greatest potential.The Venice Family Clinic is the largest free clinic in the nation, serving 20,000 patients making 100,000 visits to seven sites in Los Angeles County. www.venicefamilyclinic.org
