3 honored for service to Medina Memorial during gala on hospital’s 100th anniversary

Photos by Tom Rivers: Roland Howell stands to be recognized as a recipient of the Bowen Award during a gala on Saturday night at Bent’s Opera House. Howell’s son Peter is at right. Howell has been a key volunteer for Medina Memorial Hospital for several decades. The Bowen Award is named for George Bowen, a man who in the early 1900s saw a need in the Medina community and started a hospital.

MEDINA – Orleans Community Health honored three people on Saturday with a Bowen Award, given in honor of the man who pushed to start Medina Memorial Hospital a century ago.

During a gala at Bent’s Opera House, set to a Roaring ’20s theme, Orleans Community health recognized Roland Howell, the late Van Hungerford, and the late Dr. Ekran John Boulous. The event was the third annual gala to benefit Medina Memorial and Orleans Community Health. About 100 people attended with many dressing in a flapper style from that era.

(Left) Megan Johnson, president of the OCH Foundation, welcomes the crowd to the event. Johnson said many community members are very supportive of the hospital and OCH services in the community.

(Right) Marc Shurtz, the OCH/Medina Memorial chief executive officer, said the organization is getting stronger, and adding more services to the community.

Many smaller hospitals in the region have either closed or cut back services, Shurtz said. Medina Memorial added an Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic in October, and has expanded with wound care, podiatry, more general surgery and other services.

Orleans Community Health will soon start construction on the $1.9 million Medina Healthcare Center. This outpatient clinic will be done in phases and will include primary care providers. OCH seeks to address a gap in accessible outpatient services. The planned renovations include more than 13 exam rooms, improved parking and a dedicated entrance on the south end of the campus.

“Our plan is to bring more needed care to the community,” Shurtz said. “We not only want to be sustainable for years to come, but we want to increase the services we’re providing.”

About 100 people attended the gala at Bent’s Opera House with music by Ken Ryan and the Professionals.

Many of the attendees dressed up in a Roaring ’20s style. A bigger event is being planned in September for the 100th anniversary of the hospital.

Kim Gray, chief nursing officer and director of Surgical Services at Medina Memorial, shares about the late Dr. Ekram John Boulos, who was honored with one of the Bowen Awards on Saturday.

Dr. Ekram John Boulos

Dr. Boulos passed away at age 69 on Dec. 14, 2022. He worked as an ENT surgeon for nearly 50 years and was a specialist in otolaryngology – head & neck surgery.

Gray said Dr. Boulos was very dedicated to his patients and the staff at Medina Memorial. He insisted on music in the operating room, sometimes classical, rock, jazz “and sometimes something completely unexpected,” Gray said.

“It set the tone, brought comfort, and, in many ways, reflected the rhythm of his work,” she said.

He gave many of the patients, nurses, staff and other doctors nicknames, some of which stuck for decades, Gray said.

“It was his way of breaking the ice, making people feel at ease, and reminding everyone that medicine, at its core, is deeply personal,” Gray said. “It wasn’t just about treating ailments. It was about making connections, building trust, and bringing a little lightness to even the most serious of situations.”

Gray read a letter from Dr. Boulos wife, Neveen. She said she and her husband arrived in the medina community in 1981 with “open arms” from Dr. Adeeb, Dr. Ghaly, Dr. Brooks, Dr. Bath, Dr. Sterling, Dr. Blanchette, Dr. Rho, Dr. Zimmer, Dr. Abassey and their families.

“But it wasn’t just them,” Mrs. Boulos wrote. “It was the entire Medina community. From the very beginning, we felt at home here, embraced by kindness, warmth and generosity. Medina became more than just a place to live; It became a part of us.”

Jeanne Crane, a retired nurse at Medina Memorial and former president of the Foundation board, tells about Van Hungerford and his contributions to Medina Memorial. The late Hungerford was a successful entrepreneur at SigmaMotor in Middleport. The company manufactured a pump for open heart surgery and later developed an infusion pump.

Hungerford served on the hospital board for a 12-year term beginning in 1966. Twelve years is the maximum length for a board member.

“During this time there was a doctor shortage and the board contacted local students enrolled in medical schools,” Crane said.

Medina Memorial held “Medicine Balls” to raise scholarship money to entice physicians to come to the hospital, Crane said and recalled attended a few of the events, usually held at Middleport Fire Hall or the Armory in Medina. Those scholarships have helped bring doctors to the community, Crane said.

Hungerford was chairman of the Finance Committee and Building Fund. In 1969 as chairman, he solicited $424,952.

“While chair of this committee, he would make recommendations how money should be spent and worked with insurance companies for reimbursements,” she said.

In 1969, he pushed to the have emergency room staffed 24-7 by physicians.

“On behalf of Orleans Community Health, the hospital and foundation board, I am so honored to be able to honor a man who gave so much to our hospital and our community,” Crane said.

Dawn Meland hugs Roland Howell after he presented with the Bowen Award on Saturday. Meland is a former board member for both the hospital and OCH Foundation.

Meland praised Howell for his many years of supporting the hospital and Orleans Community Health. She praised his “humility and kindness.”

“His impact can’t be overstated,” Meland said.

Howell, 96, remembers Bowen from back when Howell was a teen-ager and as a young adult. Howell praised the optimism and leadership of Bowen, who pushed to establish the hospital in 1925.

“He was very dynamic,” Bowen told the crowd at Bent’s. “He wanted to build this hospital and he got it built.”

Howell served 12 years on the board, mainly in 1980s when the hospital did an addition and put a focus on quality assurance.

“It is unique today,” Howell said about a hospital in a smaller community, especially one that is adding services.

“The fact that this standalone hospital still exists in this community is a rarity and tribute to all of the people here,” Howell said. “I’m pleased I was a part of it.”