Houston Health Care Heroes Saluted at Surprisingly Colorful Black-Tie Affair

What: The John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science (aka The Health Museum) gala

Where: The Four Seasons Hotel

PC Moment: With the “Viva la Vida” theme, many among the ballroom throng donned a Frida Khalo inspired headdresses which added bountiful color to the fashions of the black-tie affair. Chaired by Sara and chef David Cordúa, the dinner and dancing event raised close to $300,000 for the museum‘s education and community programs.

The festive celebration honored some of Houston’s top health care professionals, who were recognized for dedicating their careers and their lives to addressing health inequities and developing innovative educational programs focusing on their advances in medicine.

Honored were family medicine practitioner Dr.  Shery Cherian, UT Health professor Maria Fernandez, PhD; MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Dr. Toma Omofoye; Memorial Hermann’s chief community health officer Carol Paret; internist Dr. Gary Sheppard with Memorial Hermann; Menninger Clinic’s Dr. Daryl Shorter; Dr. Jesus Vallejo, senior associate Dean of Admissions, Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs at Baylor College of Medicine; and Texas Children’s Hospital chief nursing officer and senior vice president Jackie Ward, DNP, RN, NE-BC.

On arrival in the ballroom, which was dressed in beautiful florals from In Bloom, Divisi Strings‘ Latin ensemble set the festive mood of the night. In fact, it was the Divisi Strings’ Collide providing the dance tunes that inspired guests to leave their tables and exercise their Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers moves.

Adding to the bottom line was the live auction in the able hands of Mike Greer with such tempting items as a “Night at the Museum” for up to 50 guests and naming rights to The Health Museum Learning Centers.

PC Seen: The Health Museum president and CEO John Arcidiacono, Linda and Rob Primrose, June and Ken Mattox, Lucia and Michael Cordúa, Dr. Ron Cotton, Amber Ellis, Erica Little, John Burnette, Dr. Megan Kalambo, Mary Ma, Dr. Maria Fernandez, and Jennifer Franco.