Carr, Grabeel, O'Reilly receive top honors

Three leaders in health care will be honored at the 15th annual Salute to Health Care Oct. 5 at Highland Springs Country Club.

This year's recipients are Dr. Phillip Carr, Jean Grabeel and Mary Beth O'Reilly, according to a press release from the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Phillip Carr, MD, has been described by nurses, colleagues and patients as the driving force behind the development of the cardiovascular program at St. John's Regional Health Center. Carr pioneered the angiogram, performing the first such procedure in Springfield in the cardiac catheterization lab he helped establish. Now, the St. John's lab facility performs more procedures than any other in Missouri.

Retired from clinical practice in 1994, Carr became St. John's medical director for outreach services, working with and recruiting rural physicians. In 1995, he was named medical director for Hammons Heart Institute, where he played a key role in the development of alternative medicine programs. He has also been instrumental in bringing heart health to a younger population through the Flip Side program, which educates students about healthy lifestyle choices relative to diet, exercise and smoking.

Jean Grabeel, in seven years as coordinator of health services for the Springfield Public Schools, has broadened school-linked health programs to improve service to medically underserved areas of the city. She developed the mobile medical unit concept to expand health services for uninsured students, those on Medicaid and those without a medical provider. Provided by Children's Miracle Network, the 35-foot CARE mobile has served thousands of students in the community.

A past president of the Missouri Association of School Nurses and the Missouri School Nurse Administrator of the Year in 1998, Grabeel's contributions have stretched far beyond the Ozarks. She has coordinated and led several medical mission trips, including the establishment of a clinic and an ongoing health education program for the Xechel people of Guatemala.

Mary Beth O'Reilly has served the community for many years as a registered nurse, community volunteer and patient advocate. The founder and chair of the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, a newly created organization to provide resources and support for the area's breast cancer patients, O'Reilly also chairs the American Cancer Society's Tel-A-Friend Tuesday, a telephone outreach program to encourage women to schedule mammograms.

O'Reilly started The Professionals program at St. John's Regional Health Center, a medical information, physician referral and nurse triage service. She has also been active in local welfare reform efforts, serves on the board of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, is a past member of the chamber's Health Care Committee, and has served on the boards of numerous community organizations.

The Salute to Health Care begins with a 6:30 p.m. reception, followed by the awards dinner at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $30 and may be purchased by calling Janet Pabst at the chamber, 862-5567.