FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rosemary Collins, Public Relations Manager
Day, 716-686-8259; Cell, 716-570-2090; rcollins@palliativecare.org

HOSPICE BUFFALO TO PRESENT HOPE, CARE & DIGNITY AWARDS

CHF Foundation, The Nanula Family, Dr. Robert Milch to receive award.

 

October 10, 2007  Cheektowaga, NY - More than 850 guests will be on hand when The Community Health Foundation of Central and Western New York, The Nanula Family (Hospice supporters and board member), and Robert A. Milch, M.D., FACS, former medical director of Hospice Buffalo, accept the Hospice Hope, Care and Dignity Award this Friday evening, Oct. 12. The Awards are being presented to the group for their generous support and collaborative partnership with Hospice Buffalo.

The Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York is being recognized for its positive impact on people and communities since its founding in 2001. The Foundation's commitment to help frail elders and children in communities of poverty has achieved tangible and lasting improvements in the health and health care of western and central New York.

 

Savino and Virginia Nanula of Grand Island are being honored by Hospice for their generous support over the last ten years. The Nanula's volunteer for many of Hospice's fund raising events and provide leadership as well as donations to support Hospice care. Virginia Nanula is a Hospice Foundation of WNY trustee. Wilson Farms, locally owned and operated by the Nanula family, is also being honored for its "Hospice Sunflower Days" campaign which raised more than $34,000 for Hospice care in NYS.

 

Robert A. Milch, M.D., FACS, former medical director of Hospice Buffalo during the last 30 years, is being recognized for his leadership and clinical excellence that has encouraged compassion in medicine and has provided the gold standard in end-of-life care. Dr. Milch is an internationally-recognized physician in the world of palliative care and clinical teaching.

 

The Hope, Care and Dignity Awards are part of the Hospice's annual Harvest Festival, a celebration of Hospice friends and family that is presented by the Buffalo Bills. The event is expected to raise more than $275,000 to support hospice care in Erie County.

 

Hospice Buffalo and its affiliates serve individuals with serious illness and their families and caregivers through a continuum of care spanning the course of illness and bereavement. More than 2,400 patients are cared for annually in homes, hospitals, nursing homes, the Hospice Buffalo House at Mitchell Campus, and the Mary and Ralph Wilson, Jr. Hospice Inpatient Unit.