Boca Raton, FL – The Boca Raton Rotary Club Downtown resumed its series of ‘Honor your doctor’ luncheons on Wednesday, March 30, after a hiatus created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers noted that physicians nominated by the community during 2020 and 2021 were included in the group honored during festivities held this year at the Boca West Country Club.
The Rotary Club presented awards to dozens of medical personnel whose names were listed in a program book distributed to guests. Rotarians and folks in the crowd extended appreciation to them for their expertise, patient care and dedication to the Hippocratic Oath during the challenging pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
Among patrons who helped sponsor by the event were Elaine J. Wold, Boca Raton Regional Hospital/Baptist Health, SKLAR Furnishings, E.M. Lynn Foundation, Eda and Cliff Viner Scholars Foundation, Wechsler Foundation/Gale Wechsler and Rocco A. and Mary Abessino Foundation.
Dr. Philip Oranberg, MD, who specializes in cardiovascular and internal medicine, received the most nominations from the crowd to earn the title of Doctor of Distinction for 2022. Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer presented Oranberg with the honor that included a proclamation from the City Council.
A 1976 graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, he served his residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center from 1976 to 1979. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania Health System from 1979 to 1981 on a fellowship in cardiovascular disease.
The physician, who has 41 years of experience, is associated with Boca Raton Regional Hospital and Delray Beach Medical Center.
According to co-chairs Janice Williams of Matrix Home Care, LLC, and Alan Kaye of Transworld Business Advisors, both founding members of the Rotary Club Downtown, the annual luncheon recognizes and honors doctors, nurses and other medical professionals within Palm Beach and Broward counties while raising funds for four-year scholarships for deserving medical and nursing students.
COVID was not totally forgotten Wednesday. “To accommodate social distancing for luncheon attendees, our club reserved the entire grand ballroom so that we were able to space out the tables and table settings,” said Williams. “Masks were also provided if requested upon arrival.”
Commenting on the return of the “Honor your doctor” luncheon, Alan Kaye said: “It is wonderful to be back together to celebrate our physicians and healthcare professionals, after having to cancel last year’s event and rescheduling this year’s celebration due to the pandemic.”
“With so many virus ebbs and flows, it is our physicians and their teams who have saved so many lives,” he added. “Always with the most compassionate patient care, and often putting themselves in harm’s way.”
Scholarships are awarded to students enrolled in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at FAU, Lynn University and Palm Beach State College.
Annually, funds from the “Honor your doctor” luncheon, founded by Helen Babione 24 years ago, but now organized each year by the Rotary Club Downtown, are primarily raised in four ways: Corporate and philanthropist sponsorships, ticket sales, “Chance to Win” purchases at the event and nominations made by patients and staff of their favorite doctors, nurses, and medical professionals who attended the event as guests of the Rotary Club.
Because the 2020 event had to be canceled, the Rotary Club Downtown reported that 100 percent of funds raised that year underwrote healthcare student scholarships.
Founded in July 2012 to support the health and wellness needs of area residents, the Rotary Club Downtown Boca Raton is dedicated to impacting the community through Rotary International’s mission of “Service Above Self.”
By Dale King