On Sept. 20, 2018, foundation staff and supporters gathered to honor and acknowledge UCHealth Northern Colorado Foundation’s 2018 recipients of our Vitalitarian and Illuminator awards. The awards went to an organization and two individuals who bring to health care everything the word “caring” represents: altruism, compassion, kindness, empathy, grace and humanity.
Vitalitarian award—outstanding philanthropist.
The Vitalitarian award went to Advanced Medical Imaging Consultants (AMIC). AMIC was founded in 1976 as a two-physician radiology practice. Forty-two years later, the company has more than 40 fellowshiptrained radiologists and has been named to national Top 50 and Top 100 lists for radiology companies.
AMIC is a generous supporter, giving more than $650,000 toward the foundation’s causes over the past three decades. The company has consistently supported the foundation’s mission and most urgent needs. AMIC is a member of both the Medical Center of the Rockies and the Longs Peak Hospital founders’ societies.
Through its decades-long support of our golf tournaments, AMIC has supported everything those tournaments benefited, including:
- The initiative to purchase and equip two new mobile blood-donation buses for our northern Colorado communities.
- The Innovative Research Fund, which funds projects aimed at bettering the health of our region, with a focus on cardiovascular medicine and trauma.
- Education—including nursing and health care scholarships and the Clinical Education and Innovation Center, which offers evidence-based interdisciplinary instruction and practice to doctors, nurses, technologists and caregivers.
- Women and children’s care: The 2018 Fort Collins golf classic proceeds were focused on helping provide a newly renovated, state-of-the-art play area for PVH pediatric patients.
Illuminator award—foundation champions.
The Illuminator award, which honors individual partners who have contributed significant time, energy and connection to advocating for the mission of UCHealth Northern Colorado Foundation, went to Dr. Ann Yanagi and Dr. Scott Johnston.
Married for three decades, Ann and Scott have served our community as physicians in emergency medicine, wound care and other areas.
Scott worked as an emergency physician with Emergency Physicians of the Rockies at PVH, MCR and the UCHealth Greeley and Harmony emergency departments from 1989 until he retired in 2016. Scott was the medical director of the PVH emergency department from 2006 to 2016 and was instrumental in designing the current 56-bed PVH emergency department that opened in 2017. Scott took on many liaison and leadership roles, setting a remarkable example as a selfless, dedicated clinician and human being.
Ann worked as an emergency physician for 20 years and then moved on to treat problem wounds at the PVH Wound Healing Clinic and work-related injuries at the PVH Occupational Health Services Clinic. She was pivotal in starting PVH and MCR’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program in the emergency departments.
Ann and Scott became involved early in the vision for creating the UCHealth Cancer Center that opened in 2014. The cancer center campaign started under Ann’s leadership while she was chair of the foundation board. Ann and Scott were instrumental in generating support for the facility, inspiring others with their substantial personal donations.
This couple is an accomplished and generous duo. Their enthusiasm for health care philanthropy, their fostering of awareness, and their loyalty and contributions to our programs and services deserve appreciation and recognition.