Jul 30, 2009, 06:17 PM
Posted on Thu, Jul. 30, 2009
Camillus House advocate Pedro José Greer to receive White House honor
BY JAWEED KALEEM
jkaleem@MiamiHerald.com
A South Florida doctor who has long advocated for the poor and homeless will travel to the nation's capital next month to receive the prestigious U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Dr. Pedro José Greer, Jr., chief of gastroenterology at Mercy Hospital and founder of Camillus Health Concern, is among an international group of 16 that President Barack Obama will recognize with the nation's highest civilian honor.
``It's very humbling,'' Greer, 53, said of the distinction, which the White House announced Thursday. ``We have a responsibility in society to take care of all people, particularly those who have less. Those who have been lucky enough to have opportunities have to give back.''
Greer finds himself in distinguished company. Other honorees this year include Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, British physicist Stephen Hawking, former Irish President Mary Robinson, tennis player and gender equality activist Billie Jean King, and Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, who is considered the father of micro-lending. Gay rights activist Harvey Milk will also be receive a posthumous medal.
Several former presidents dating back to Jimmy Carter have recognized Greer for his medical work with the poor, and he has also received a McArthur ``genius grant'' and three Papal Medals from the Vatican.
He founded Camillus Health Concern, the healthcare arm of Camillus House that provides services to 10,000 poor and homeless patients a year, in 1984. Greer also is a co-founder of Florida International University's new medical school, where he is assistant dean of academic affairs and chair of the Department of Humanities, Health and Society.
In 1991, Greer founded St. John Bosco Clinic in Little Havana, which provides basic primary medical care to disadvantaged adults and children and gets 7,000 of visits a year. The clinic is currently located in Wynwood.
``Dr. Greer's compassion is boundless. His life mission is dedicated to the service of others and without Dr. Greer, thousands of individuals in my District would be left without medical care and basic services,'' U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek said Thursday in a statement.
Greer, who lives in Coral Gables, is a 1978 graduate of the University of Florida and studied medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic.
Obama, who is awarding the medals for the first time during his presidency, will present them during an Aug. 12 ceremony at the White House.
Calling the recipients ``outstanding men and women,'' the president said in a statement that ``their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/1164070.html
© 2009 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com
Camillus House advocate Pedro José Greer to receive White House honor
BY JAWEED KALEEM
jkaleem@MiamiHerald.com
A South Florida doctor who has long advocated for the poor and homeless will travel to the nation's capital next month to receive the prestigious U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Dr. Pedro José Greer, Jr., chief of gastroenterology at Mercy Hospital and founder of Camillus Health Concern, is among an international group of 16 that President Barack Obama will recognize with the nation's highest civilian honor.
``It's very humbling,'' Greer, 53, said of the distinction, which the White House announced Thursday. ``We have a responsibility in society to take care of all people, particularly those who have less. Those who have been lucky enough to have opportunities have to give back.''
Greer finds himself in distinguished company. Other honorees this year include Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, British physicist Stephen Hawking, former Irish President Mary Robinson, tennis player and gender equality activist Billie Jean King, and Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, who is considered the father of micro-lending. Gay rights activist Harvey Milk will also be receive a posthumous medal.
Several former presidents dating back to Jimmy Carter have recognized Greer for his medical work with the poor, and he has also received a McArthur ``genius grant'' and three Papal Medals from the Vatican.
He founded Camillus Health Concern, the healthcare arm of Camillus House that provides services to 10,000 poor and homeless patients a year, in 1984. Greer also is a co-founder of Florida International University's new medical school, where he is assistant dean of academic affairs and chair of the Department of Humanities, Health and Society.
In 1991, Greer founded St. John Bosco Clinic in Little Havana, which provides basic primary medical care to disadvantaged adults and children and gets 7,000 of visits a year. The clinic is currently located in Wynwood.
``Dr. Greer's compassion is boundless. His life mission is dedicated to the service of others and without Dr. Greer, thousands of individuals in my District would be left without medical care and basic services,'' U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek said Thursday in a statement.
Greer, who lives in Coral Gables, is a 1978 graduate of the University of Florida and studied medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic.
Obama, who is awarding the medals for the first time during his presidency, will present them during an Aug. 12 ceremony at the White House.
Calling the recipients ``outstanding men and women,'' the president said in a statement that ``their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/1164070.html
© 2009 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com