Rose Mass Honors Local Health Care Providers

Sunday, March 30, 2014

HYATTSVILLE, Md. – Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, today celebrated the 23rd annual Rose Mass for medical, dental, nursing and allied health care workers at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Md. Fr. James M. Shea, S.J., provincial of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, was the homilist.

With the celebration of this Rose Mass, the John Carroll Society, a Washington area organization that provides spiritual, intellectual, charitable and social opportunities for Catholic professionals and business men and women in service to the Archbishop of Washington, continues a tradition that began in 1992. This event takes place annually on the fourth Sunday of Lent, a Sunday when the vestments worn by the celebrant are rose-colored. The rose has also come to symbolize life, the precious care of which is entrusted to the healing professions.

The Rose Mass is organized to invoke God’s blessings on the medical, dental, nursing and allied health care workers and the many health care institutions in the Archdiocese of Washington. In addition, the Mass provides an opportunity to acknowledge the work of the volunteers of the Catholic Charities Health Care Network. This network is composed of a multitude of dedicated workers from all religions, infused with an ecumenical spirit in their care of the sick. The network provides millions of dollars in free outpatient services to thousands of people in need through the generosity of volunteer nurses, doctors, dentists and area hospitals.

Following the Mass, four local health care providers and a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington were recognized at a luncheon for their outstanding volunteer service and tireless efforts in serving the community’s needs. The awards are given each year by the John Carroll Society.

Pro Bono Health Care Awardees

Elizabeth Dugan, M.D. (Dermotopathologist)
Dr. Elizabeth Dugan is a native of Maryland and comes from a family of physicians. She graduated from the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and trained in dermatology and dermatoimmunology at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes. Dr. Dugan completed a medical staff fellowship in the dermatology branch of the National Institutes of Health and a dermatopathology fellowship at the George Washington University Hospital. Dr. Dugan has practiced dermatology, dermatopathology and dermatoimmunology in the Washington area since 1994. She is the former director of dermatopathology and dermatoimmunology at the Georgetown University Medical Center and the Washington Hospital Center. During her tenure, she was instrumental in establishing a working relationship with Catholic Charities medical clinics for the interpretation and diagnosis of skin biopsies. She is currently a clinical associate professor of medicine and pathology at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she plays an active role in teaching medical students. She is also on the teaching staff of Georgetown University Hospital and the Washington Hospital Center. She is involved in running the small charitable foundation established by her grandfather in 1944, which benefits cultural, scientific and educational organizations in the greater Baltimore-Washington area. An avid gardener, Dr. Dugan devotes her free time to volunteering for the United States National Arboretum. She is a member of Holy Trinity parish in Georgetown.

Robert Murphy, M.D. (Ophthalmologist and Retina Specialist)
Dr. Robert Murphy has devoted much of his life to help cure the most common visual blinding eye conditions. After completing his undergraduate studies at St. Louis University, Dr. Murphy graduated from Northwestern University Medical School and completed residencies in internal medicine at the University of California, Irvine, and ophthalmology at Stanford University Medical School. He then completed a retina fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, where he remained a professor on the ophthalmology faculty for 12 years. At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Murphy headed the Retinal Angiographic Reading Center and was the lead researcher of the early treatment diabetic retinopathy study and the macular photocoagulation study. In addition, he worked with the World Health Organization treating river blindness in Liberia. Dr. Murphy is in private practice with the Retina Group of Washington, one of the largest retinal and macular practices in the country, focusing on macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vascular disease. He has authored over 180 scientific publications, 12 book chapters and three academic retinal books. He is also a member of over a dozen associations and has received numerous awards. Dr. Murphy has provided pro bono health care serving Catholic Charities patients for many years, treating various ocular conditions.

Joshua Yamamoto, M.D. (Cardiologist)
Dr. Joshua Yamamoto is a native Washingtonian. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from Princeton University and his medical degree with honors from Dartmouth Medical School. Dr. Yamamoto trained in internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and completed his cardiology fellowship at Bethesda Naval Hospital and Georgetown University Hospital. As an attending physician at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Dr. Yamamoto served as director of cardiac imaging, cardiology consultant to the attending physician to Congress and head of cardiology training. He proudly served in the U.S. Navy for eight years. In 2005 he was deployed to Kuwait to support the cardiac needs of troops throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. Following his return, Dr. Yamamoto entered private practice. He is currently a partner in Foxhall Medicine, PLLC, a multi-specialty group in Washington, D.C. He has been very active over the years with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network providing pro bono cardiology care to many needy and uninsured patients. Dr. Yamamoto completed the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults program in 2000 at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown.

Msgr. Harry A. Echle Award for Outstanding Service in Health Care Ministry:

Fr. M. Valentine Keveny
Born in Ireland, Fr. M. Valentine Keveny attended seminary at Ireland’s national seminary, St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, and Pontifical University in County Kildare, Ireland. He was ordained on June 23, 1973, and his first assignment was at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Indian Head, Md. After serving several other local parishes, he became a full-time chaplain at the Washington Hospital Center, the George Washington University Hospital and the Columbia Female and Maternity Hospital. In 2000 Fr. Keveny was appointed chaplain at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital and Asbury Methodist Village where he continues to serve today. In addition, he serves as chaplain at Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland, Genesis HealthCare, Shady Grove Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Ingleside Retirement Community, Manor Care Potomac, Adventist Behavioral Health and the Georgetown Home, where he has celebrated weekly Mass and visited residents for the past 17 years. In 2007 Fr. Keveny received the Community Partnership Award in Recognition of Common Vision for the Health Community from Adventist Health Care.

2014 James Cardinal Hickey Lifetime Service Award

Salvatore Selvaggio, D.D.S.
Dr. Salvatore Selvaggio earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology at the State University of New York at New Paltz. After a working as a research assistant in immunology at Massachusetts General Hospital, he attended Georgetown University Dental School and worked part-time at the National Institutes of Health in the Laboratory of Oral Medicine. After graduating from Georgetown, Dr. Selvaggio entered a postdoctoral residency in General Practice Dentistry at Providence Hospital. Dr. Selvaggio has been in private practice for 34 years in Northwest Washington and is regularly recognized as one of the top dentists by the Washingtonian Magazine survey of his peers as well as by the Washington Consumer’s Checkbook. He has volunteered at the Spanish Catholic Center since 1985 where he serves the immigrant community by performing general and restorative dentistry on a pro bono basis. In addition to volunteering his professional services, Dr. Selvaggio has assumed a leadership role at the Spanish Catholic Center by serving on the Spanish Catholic Center’s health advisory committee and held a four-year term as chairman of the board of directors. He currently is a member of the advisory board of Catholic Charities on issues pertaining to the immigrant community in the Washington area. Dr. Selvaggio is also active in the annual fundraising effort for the Spanish Catholic Center and has been instrumental in the recruitment of other professionals.

The Archdiocese of Washington is home to over 620,000 Catholics, 139 parishes and 96 Catholic schools, located in Washington, D.C., and five Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s.

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