Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley is celebrating the contributions of health care leaders who exemplify Mercy Health’s mission and provide visionary leadership in their service to the community with its annual Health Care Visionary Award.

This year’s honorees include Mercy Health Youngstown Protective Services, Mercy Health Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center and Dr. Carl R. Peterson III.

The Health Care Visionary Awards is an annual community event that recognizes the great accomplishments of those whose actions, in spirit and mission, are inspired by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary — the religious women who founded Mercy Health’s health care ministry in 1911.

The keynote of this year’s event will be delivered by Bishop David J. Bonnar of the Diocese of Youngstown. This special keynote address will be given during the Jubilee Holy Year, which Pope Francis has designated as a time to renew ourselves as “Pilgrims of Hope.”

The awards ceremony will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the DeYor Performing Arts Center, 260 W. Federal St., Youngstown.

Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online at: https://mercyfoundationmv.ejoinme.org/hcva24. Admission may also be purchased at the door, no cash sales.

● Mercy Health Youngstown Protective Services is recognized for excellence in police service, keeping Mercy Health patients, visitors and staff safe, enforcing the law, preventing crime, and responding to emergency situations through resources funded by Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley. The police and protective services team has partnered with the Foundation on many projects, including new patrol vehicles, personal safety equipment and a training simulator. These resources allow the Mercy Health Police and Protective Services Department to provide safe transport, increase positive encounters with patients and visitors, and promote safety and security at all Mercy Health Youngstown facilities. The department is led by Chief Ryan Bonacci, who has dedicated nearly 10 years to the safety of patients, visitors and staff of Mercy Health.

* The Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center (JACBCC) provides breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment by a team of specialists, all under one roof. Joanie Abdu served as a nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital for more than 20 years. In 1993, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. After a hard-fought battle, Joanie died June 2, 1994.

After Joanie’s death, her husband, Dr. Rashid Abdu, helped create the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center at St. Elizabeth, which opened its doors in 2011. Joanie’s Promise is a Mercy Health Foundation fund that ensures all women have access to diagnostic care, regardless of their ability to pay, including screenings, transportation and education.

Donations to the Foundation for the JACBCC are used to purchase the latest technology and equipment, maintain the facility and make needed updates, build a healing garden, support the Joanie on the Go mobile mammography unit and expand the center to additional sites in new locations.

* Dr. Carl Peterson has been practicing medicine for more than 10 years, with a specialty in radiation oncology and areas of interest including SBRT, breast cancers and brain tumors. He completed medical school at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, an internal medicine internship at the Cleveland Clinic, and his residency was in radiation oncology at the University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital. Peterson is board certified by the American Board of Radiology and also has been recognized as clinical honoree by the American Cancer Society and for outstanding achievement.

He and his wife, Jessica, with their four children, enjoy traveling, skiing, training and golf.