Success & Service: Three from Doctors Medical Center named to Tenet Heroes Hall of Fame

Three members of Doctors Medical Center’s neurosciences unit were inducted into the Tenet Heroes Hall of Fame, which is the Tenet Healthcare Corp.’s highest honor for employees.

Social worker Janelle Beckman, Director of Patient Care Services Tony Linn and registered nurse Kath Taylor received their awards in Florida in April and were honored again during an event in Modesto last week.

Beckman, Linn and Taylor provided compassion and support when a wife and mother of four suffered a spontaneous brain hemorrhage while camping with her family in Yosemite National Park in October 2015. Linn tended to the family’s primary needs and beyond by arranging lodging for the family and then driving to Yosemite to retrieve their belongings while they said their goodbyes. Beckman spent countless hours comforting the family and helping them to understand the grieving process. Taylor, meanwhile, took personal time off to comfort the patient’s mother when it came time to withdraw life support.

“Our Tenet Heroes Hall of Fame inductees demonstrate our commitment to patients and the communities we serve,” said Eric Evans, Tenet’s president of hospital operations. “During an incredibly difficult time, Janelle, Tony and Kath went beyond the call of duty to deliver exceptional service and support for their patient’s family.”

It marks the second consecutive year Doctors Medical Center employees have won the honor.

A video on YouTube tells their story.

North Modesto Kiwanis BBQ raises funds for local causes

The North Modesto Kiwanis raised money for local causes including the Society for disAbilities, the YES Company, the Center for Human Services and the Children’s Crisis Center during the 50th Chicken A Go Go event at Davis Park last weekend.

They served more than 2,000 chicken meals at $20 each, and after expenses netted more than $14,000. Each year, the service organization raises more than $100,000 for charities and youth programs in the Modesto area.

The club also announced the recipients of its Al Barr Memorial Scholarships for 2016-17. Barr, who was one of Modesto’s first graphic designers and worked for The Modesto Bee, died in 2000. This is the program’s 16th year. Recipients are Anthony Frances of Patterson, who will be a freshman at San Francisco State University, $500; Mary Mitchell of San Ramon, who will be a sophomore at the University of San Francisco, $500; Alexander Sarina of Modesto, a junior at Biola University in La Mirada, $250; Natalie Schemmel of Modesto, a senior at California State University, Stanislaus, $500; Tanner Walsh of Modesto, who will be a sophomore at California State University, Chico, $250; and Lian Weller of San Ramon, who will be a freshman at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, $250.

Modesto receives planning honor

The city of Modesto’s Downtown Form-Based Zones has been selected to receive the 2016 Outstanding Planning Award in the urban design category from the American Planning Association’s Central Section. The city is eligible to submit its project for the association’s state chapter honors. Form-based zoning focuses on the size, shape and setting of buildings in relationship to one another and to public areas such as streets and sidewalks. The Downtown Form-Based Code also promotes mixed-use development that blends residential, commercial and office uses in a single building to help create a balanced, vibrant downtown. The recently completed Tower Park Senior Apartments at 17th and G streets follows the form-based approach to zoning and development.

Marissa’s Closet in Ripon closing

Marissa’s Closet, which opened in Ripon in 2010 to provide free prom dresses, and wedding and formal gowns to girls and women in need, will close its doors Saturday. Founder Melinda Shaw said she no longer could muster the financial support to remain open. She formed the nonprofit organization six years ago in memory of her daughter, Marissa McLeod who, before taking her own life in 2009, had set upon the idea of gathering prom dresses for high school girls who could not afford expensive store dresses. Shaw purchased a building at 104 W. Main St. in Ripon in 2012, and moved the operation there that year. To date, Marissa’s Closet has handed out more than 12,000 dresses. Shaw recently sold the building, moved to Tracy and is now working in the Bay Area, which contributed to her decision to close the shop. The shop will be open from noon to 5 p.m., after which time she is looking to donate the remaining dresses to other local nonprofits.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Success & Service: Three from Doctors Medical Center named to Tenet Heroes Hall of Fame."