Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • June 26, 2013 Area Cassell earns Jefferson Award for community service Dr. Samuel Cassell, founder of the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative, recently became a Jefferson Award winner. These awards are presented annually by the State of New Jersey and PNC Bank to recognize volunteers for their service to the community. When he learned of his nomination, Cassell’s first thought was about the good this award could do to expand health care for more working, low-income residents of Bergen County. “When 80,000 people in our Bergen community have to live without health care, it’s our duty to not only help them, but to make sure as many people are aware as possible of the huge and growing need,” Cassell said. “Through volunteering and supporting this important initiative as a community, we really do make a difference. This award should help us get the word out.” Cassell’s interest in community-based health care has been at the forefront of his life for more than 10 years. In 2000, he had just retired from his practice as an internist and pulmonologist when a series of events got him thinking about the need for medical care for the uninsured. He began an extraordinary journey that culminated in the opening of Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative, a Hackensack-based health care center that provides free primary and preventive medical care for working, low-income adults who have no health insurance. “Sam was convinced that doctors, nurses, and other health care providers could – and would - volunteer their services to provide care for those who couldn’t afford it,” said Michael Azzara, former Valley Hospital CEO, who currently serves as board chair of BVMI. “Sam was the driving force behind the establishment of BVMI and worked tirelessly to recruit community leaders and donors throughout the county, which resulted in the opening of the health care center in 2009. Today, more than 65 volunteer physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses serve a patient base of 1,000 people at more than 5,000 office visits annually. Through relationships Cassell and his colleagues forged with all five of (continued on page 14) Doctor Samuel Cassell