Fundraiser recognizes physicians & youth who contribute to community health
Summer Solstice Celebration 2016
On Wednesday, June 22, 2016, Marin Community Clinics will honor two physicians and a middle school student for their contributions to the health and wellness of Marin County residents.
The annual Summer Solstice event, which is open to the public, supports the Clinics’ mission to improve health by providing high quality, cost-effective, culturally sensitive, patient-centered care. It will be held from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Marin Art & Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. Tickets are $100 per person or $95/person when purchased online at www.marinclinics.org/summer-solstice.
This year’s Health Champion honorees are:
Tracey Hessel, MD is the Lead Pediatrician for Marin Community Clinics, where she has dedicated the last 13 years to providing compassionate, quality healthcare to her patients. Dr. Hessel’s contributions have been fundamental in developing the dynamic pediatric care Marin Community Clinics is known to provide. A Marin native, Dr. Hessel stayed local for her education; receiving her undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley and completing her medical school and pediatric residency training at UCSF. After graduating from UCSF, Dr. Hessel stayed loyal to her roots and began practicing pediatric care at Marin Community Clinics. After a brief spell at a private practice Dr. Hessel dedicated herself to the clinics in the early 2000s joining them to alleviating the struggle low-income and uninsured patients endure. When she’s not donning her stethoscope, Dr. Hessel enjoys backpacking and bike riding with her husband and two children in the many beautiful Marin open spaces.
Michael Star, MD is an orthopedic surgeon with over 25 years of experience and is currently in his third year bringing vital orthopedic services to the Clinics as a volunteer specialist. Dr. Star is a founding member of the Santa Rosa Orthopedic Facility, where he still practices today. Growing up in New York (near the Canadian Border) Dr. Star discovered his profound desire to help people with orthopedic struggles. Determined to become an orthopedic surgeon, he enrolled in the Six-Year medical program at Boston University where he completed both undergrad and medical studies. After graduation Dr. Star completed his residency at the famed SUNY-Kings County Hospital Center then traveled west to participate in a two-year fellowship at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla. During the 1990s Dr. Star relocated to the Bay Area and helped establish the Santa Rosa Orthopedic facility, where he still practices today. When he isn’t fixing, writing or teaching all things bones, Dr. Star enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife Debra and their two children.
This year’s Youth Honoree is Adriana Golden, age 13. Volunteer, humanitarian, chef, and musician, are just some of the words that describe how she spends her free time. Adriana came to us with a plan and we were fortunate to have her. Selling baked goods and crafts at her school (Kent Middle School), local craft fairs, and even out on busy street corners, Adriana raises money to buy books for her booth at Marin Community Clinics Health Hubs where she reads to children and hands out the books at no cost.Adriana wants to inspire and she does so by being involved in everything she can; cross country, rhythmic gymnastics, Eco Chef, Kent Psych Council, Girls Scout’s to name just a few. She dreams of becoming a Pediatric Surgeon, a Rabbi or a District Attorney. Inspired by the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, her mother and her sixth grade teacher who have all influenced her to fill the gaps, try hard and give everything your all.