Plaza Health Network Honors the 2015 Women of Distinction & Caring Luncheon

Elaine Bloom, President & CEO of Plaza Health Network, and Ronald Lowy, Chairman of the Board, with 2015 Honorees: Toby Ansin, Marile Lopez, Trish Bell and Dr. Ora Lea Strickland (Not Pictured: Roberta Orlen Chaplin)
Former Honoree Sonja Zuckerman accepting the award on behalf of Roberta Orlen Chaplin, with Ilene Zweig, Executive Director Plaza Health Network Foundation

Over 350 community leaders gathered together to celebrate and honor the volunteer service, professional achievements, and philanthropy of five exceptional women at the recent 2015 Women of Distinction & Caring Luncheon. Held in the Jungle Island Tree Top Ballroom, the day’s festivities included a silent auction and art to wear boutiques, a lavish lunch and a surprise musical performance by the budding opera star, Roberto Iarussi. Proceeds from the luncheon will support the Foundation’s ongoing effort to deliver life-improving and innovative experiences for residents and patients of the Plaza Health Network’s award winning rehabilitation and skilled nursing centers, as well as the H.E.L.P (Health Education Learning Program) for seniors living in the community.

The 2015 Honorees were:

  • Toby Ansin, Founder of Miami City Ballet
  • Trish Bell, Chair Emeritus Chapman Partnership and Co-Chair Patricia and Phillip Frost Frost Museum of Science
  • Roberta Orlen Chaplin, ardent supporter of the Roberta Orlen Chaplin Digital Breast Imaging Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital
  • Marile Lopez, Board Chair of Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation
  • Dr. Ora Lea Strickland, Ph.D, RN, Dean and Professor at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Florida International University

About Plaza Health Network

Plaza Health Network is the largest not-for-profit network of rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities in Miami-Dade County. Services include but are not limited to, post-operative care and rehabilitation, stroke care and rehabilitation, diabetes care and management, Alzheimer’s care, wound care, and orthopedic rehabilitation therapy.

The Plaza Health Network Foundation plays a critical role in the South Florida community. For the network, the Foundation supports innovative experiences for residents and patients beyond the primary needs covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Through outreach and health education programs, the Foundation answers the questions that so many families have about care for their aging loved ones.

“A civilization is judged by how it cares for its elderly.”