Oak Orchard Health celebrates 50th anniversary

Dr. James Goetz, retiring pediatrician, praised for 45 years of service to OOH patients

Photos courtesy of Oak orchard Health: (Left) Karen Kinter, CEO of Oak Orchard Health, celebrates at the 50th anniversary celebration at Maison Albion on Friday. (Right) Dr. James Goetz and his wife celebrate at the dinner on Friday.

Press Release, Oak Orchard Health

ALBION – What a night! After 50 years there was a lot to celebrate. Oak Orchard Health was founded in 1973 and Dr. James Goetz joined us in 1978 as a pediatrician. As he said, “There must be something special at Oak Orchard Health for me to stay that long!”

Oak Orchard Health celebrated the milestone anniversary with a gala on Friday at Maison Albion with its staff, board members and elected officials.

Karen Kinter, the Oak Orchard Health CEO, presented the State of the Organization to cheers and applause. She also brought Dr. Goetz up to the podium to thank him for his years of service and presented him with original artwork signed by Oak Orchard staff.

“We wanted to do something special for Dr. Goetz and this artwork depicting our agricultural workers seemed appropriate,” Kinter said. “He has always been dedicated to ensuring our health services are available to everyone, particularly farmworkers. We were honored to have Dr. Goetz with us for 45 years.”

This group include Dr. Danielle Renodin-Mead, pediatrician and chief medical officer; OOH board president Renee Biedlingmaier; and Dr. Rachel Nozzi, chief dental officer.

On Saturday, October 14, Oak Orchard Health will host a community open house for Dr. Goetz from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Brockport office. All are welcome to come by for fun, friendship, and refreshments. We’d love to see you there.

Representatives from the offices of Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Senator George Borello, and Senator Robert Ortt attended the Friday event and presented Oak Orchard Health with proclamations. OOH also received a 50th Anniversary Proclamation from Congressman Joe Morelle.

Our current and past board members were present and recognized for their dedication to Oak Orchard. Three retired board members Kathy Williams (served 11 years), Rita Wagner (19 years), and David Jewell (18 years) joined us.

Karen Kinter is shown with OOH board president Renee Biedlingmaier, and vice president Randy Dumas.

Current board members that attended were Renee Biedlingmaier (Board Chair), Randy Dumas (Vice Chair), Nyla Gaylord (Treasurer), Lorienda Smith (Secretary), Rene Cibrian, George Sokolsky, Cynda Watroba, and Leda Pacelli-Szabo.

Each member of the Senior Executive Team donated a themed basket that we later gave to the lucky team member.

The dinner and dessert were fabulous. Thank you to everyone who helped us make this a special evening.

The 50th Anniversary celebration would not be complete without the support of our sponsors which include Labella, The Bonadio Group, Henry Schein, Pullano & Farrow, PLLC, Crane Dental Laboratory, Maison Albion, Wolf Martial Arts, and Pro Squared Janitorial Services. We also received donations from many local businesses.

Oak Orchard Health

Founded in 1973, Oak Orchard has grown from a migrant health project into an integrated health center with multiple locations providing health care services for everyone located in the communities we serve. Currently serving over 30,000 patients at eleven locations in the towns of Albion, Alexander, Batavia, Brockport, Corfu, Hornell, Medina, and Warsaw.

This group enjoying the celebration includes Rita Wagner, Karen Kinter, Kathy Williams and David Jewell.