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The annual Call to Hope fundraising breakfast hosted by Shepherd's Hope's is scheduled for Thursday, April 12 beginning at 8:30 AM at the Rosen Centre Hotel on International Drive. The program will include impactful stories from some of the patients served by Shepherd's Hope last year and the presentation of Volunteer of the Year awards in the categories of nurse, clinical practitioner, doctor and general volunteer.
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In 2017, Shepherd's Hope provided free patient visits and medical services to 19,575 uninsured men, women and children in Central Florida; up 13 percent from the prior year. "Call to Hope offers the community an inspirational opportunity to hear firsthand from some of these patients about the hope and healing that occurs each night at our five health centers," said President and CEO Marni Stahlman. "We will also be honoring the 2,800 volunteers who gave nearly 44,000 hours of their time last year to help our communities' most vulnerable neighbors."
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One-in-four Central Floridians remain uninsured. Many of them linger in a gray area known as the "coverage gap," earning too much to qualify for Medicaid and other programs, but not enough to afford the costly deductibles and co-payments of insurance products offered on the Healthcare.gov exchange, even with federal subsidies. These residents struggle financially to afford basic housing and food needs, and therefore, often forgo or delay medical care.
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"The need for Shepherd's Hope and the healthcare services we provide is even greater today than it was in 1997 when we first started seeing patients," Stahlman added. "Funds raised from our Call to Hope breakfast enable us to remain committed to bridging the 'coverage gap' to high quality healthcare while mitigating the tremendous financial implications to the community and other healthcare providers."
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This year's Call to Hope Breakfast is supported by Rosen Centre Hotel, Florida Hospital, Enterprise Holdings Foundation and Orlando Health.
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To RSVP for the April 12 Call to Hope breakfast, visit http://shepherdshope.org/fundraising-breakfast/ or email Development@ShepherdsHope.org.
