Project Access founder receives coveted award
On October 9, Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital presented the 2007 Sister Peter Claver Award to Sam Selinger, MD, a retired cardiac surgeon who has shown unwavering commitment to Spokane’s working poor by creating “Project Access.” The Award is given annually, to recognize community members who exemplify the spirit and commitment of Sister Peter Claver, Sacred Heart’s administrator for more than 30 years.
“Project Access offers medical treatment to people who would otherwise go without, and it's exactly the type of mission Sister Peter Claver herself would have been quick to support,” said Skip Davis, CEO of Providence Health Care, when presenting the Award.
The founder of Project Access in Spokane, Dr. Selinger is personally responsible for enlisting the commitments of hundreds of care providers to participate in this vital program.
“I’m terribly honored to receive this award,” says Dr. Selinger. “Sister Peter Claver was a wonderful person and it’s really something to receive an award in her name and to be in the company of such fine people who received it in the past.” He continues, “The congratulations really go to all of the participants of Project Access for making it work.”
Those participants include 850 physicians, two hospital systems, labs and treatment facilities who agree to provide care when patients meet the criteria. Typically, these patients are the “working poor”—people who have jobs, but low pay and little to no insurance, and don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. Grants from Sacred Heart Medical Center and Group Health Cooperative pay for the organization's first full-time employee, and Dr. Selinger has also brought eight cities and Spokane County on board to pay for prescriptions for Project Access patients.
The process took years of concentrated work, travel to meet with state legislators and of course, visits with the colleagues with whom he’d worked for more than two decades. It was a massive mission to undertake, but he approached it with vigor and determination—and he’s quick to pass on the accolades to others.
Project Access began in Ashville, South Carolina, and is expanding throughout the nation. The Spokane program was the first in Washington state and has served as model for three other Northwest communities.
Dr. Selinger says, “As a surgeon, I helped one person at a time. Now, I am able to do so much more. And that is what makes my work so truly rewarding.” He continues, “Project Access is simply about taking care of your neighbor—and enlisting others to help you do that.”
Other nominees for the 2007 Sister Peter Claver Award included Monsignor Frank Bach; Dick Boysen; Bernard Coughlin, SJ; Scott Edminister, MD; Hrair Garabedian, MD; Judith Heaton; Laurie Lordan, RN; Clara and Jerry Monks; Mary Ann Murphy; Chris Peterson, CRNA; Bob Scott; Mary Ann Sheer; Mary Skindlov; Marilyn Thordarson; Mary Tyllia; and Marianne Therese Wilkinson, SNJM.
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