Memorial Hospital Physician Named Physician of the Year
YORK, PA – Lisa Fritz, D.O., director of Medical Education at Memorial Hospital, was named the 2009 Healthcare Heroes’ Physician of the Year. The awards competition, sponsored by Central Penn Parent, was designed to recognize Central Pennsylvania's outstanding physicians, nurses, volunteers, health educators and organizations making a difference in health care.
An independent panel of judges selected finalists from eight categories: Allied Healthcare Hero, Children's Health Advocate Individual, Children's Health Advocate Organization, Education Hero, Innovation Hero, Nurse of the Year, Physician of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. Fritz was the highest scoring finalist in the Physician of the Year category.
The finalists and winners were recognized at a breakfast at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg yesterday.
Dr. Fritz received her D.O. degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her internship and residency at Memorial Hospital. Upon graduation, she joined White Rose OB/GYN Associates in 1987 and was a practicing physician until 2004 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After successfully battling breast cancer she developed neuropathy and no longer could practice medicine. She wanted to stay in the medical field and enjoys teaching, so it was a natural fit for her to become the director of Medical Education at Memorial Hospital.
“We are so proud of Dr. Fritz’s accomplishment,” said Sally Dixon, Memorial Hospital president and CEO. “Dr. Fritz’s passion for medical education made her a perfect fit for her current position. In her time, she has nearly doubled the number of interns and residents in our program and has been instrumental in raising the money needed to purchase a new Simulation Lab for the Hospital.”
Her passion for educating and supporting others goes far beyond this. After successfully battling breast cancer, she saw a need that wasn’t being met. And true to her character, she decided to do something about it. She felt there were not enough local support systems for breast cancer survivors, so she started the P.I.N.K. support group. This group of women, led by Dr. Fritz, has a monthly networking group and has successfully raised more than $10,000 to fund transportation for women to mammography appointments and educational materials to spread the message about early detection.
In addition to Dr. Fritz, Memorial Hospital had two finalists in other categories. Mary Beth Fisher, R.N., was a finalist for Nurse of the Year and Renata Tate, R.N., was finalist for Education Hero.
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