Contact: Mary Martin-Coor
mary.martin-coor@cvvim.org
760-625-0737
Press Release
For Immediate Release
THE VIMY AWARDS & WINELOVER’S AUCTION HONORING CVVIM FOUNDER R. RONALD HARE, MD COACHELLA VALLEY VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE
Indio, California, February 5, 2020 – Coachella Volunteers In Medicine (CVVIM) is gearing up for their fifth annual event, The VIMY Awards & WineLover’s Auction, March 21st to benefit CVVIM – the Valley’s only free primary care healthcare clinic.
In recognition of our 10th anniversary, the VIMY Award was created to honor a significant contributor to healthcare in our Coachella Valley and beyond. We are pleased to announce our first VIMY Award recipient as R. Ron Hare, MD for his tireless efforts to create Coachella Valley’s only free clinic and for his lifelong contributions to the communities in which he has lived.
Ron has served his nation and community, from entering the US Army in 1954, earning a medical degree and entering private practice in Los Angeles. While maintaining his surgical practice, he taught at USC, founded and directed the American Indian Free Clinic of Los Angeles, and oversaw the intern training program at Good Samaritan Hospital.
In 1985, Ron and his wife, Norma, retired to the desert. Ron continued to give back to our community, serving as Board Member & President of the Indio Chamber of Commerce, and Medical Director of Santa Rosa del Valle, a nonprofit medical clinic. Ron was Chairman of the Riverside County Fair Board, a Board Member and Vice Chair of the Indio Youth Task Force and Board Member and Chairman of JFK Memorial Hospital Governing Board.
The event will be held at historic Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, and sponsored by Desert Care Network, Monte de Oro Winery and KESQ News Channel 3, and features both silent and live auctions with a wine reception and wine dinner. Last year’s WineLover’s Auction raised over $200,000 to support CVVIM operations and programs, including direct patient care, education, case management services, and homeless medical outreach. Auction items will include Moet & Chandon Ice Imperial champagne and Osetra caviar, a Cayuse flight of Bionic Frog, Paso Robles and New York travel packages, and a Thunderbird Wine Cellar Dinner for twenty (20).
CVVIM Executive Director, Doug Morin, shared, “This will be the fifth event and I’m absolutely delighted with how everything is coming together. It will be a beautiful evening, with some new surprises, and importantly, we will be raising much needed funding to support CVVIM and the services we provide to our Coachella Valley neighbors in need.”
The VIMY Awards & WineLover’s Auction is the primary fundraising event for CVVIM, which doesn’t receive governmental reimbursement and relies exclusively on the generosity of individual and philanthropic organizations for funding. Our new Wine Down party will entertain guests with music by Rick Ross, multi-talented pianist, saxophonist and vocalist performing in Southern California and the Palm Springs area.
About Coachella Valley Volunteers In Medicine
The mission of Coachella Valley Volunteers In Medicine (CVVIM) is to provide free healthcare services to low-income persons who have no health insurance or who are underinsured. CVVIM is the only free healthcare clinic in the Coachella Valley. Services include medical and dental care, disease education, case management and community referrals. Conditions seen most commonly include diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, all of which cause serious problems if untreated, but whose complications can be prevented with regular medical care. In addition to never charging a patient for medical or dental care, CVVIM also assumes all associated costs necessary for diagnosis and treatment of illness, such as laboratory tests, imaging and x-rays. Scores of dedicated volunteers – doctors, dentists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, medical and dental assistants and support volunteers, donate thousands of hours each year to accommodate more than 4,500 patient contacts a year. Since opening in 2010, CVVIM has provided more than 34,000 patient visits.
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