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Local
During Black History Month, Rep. Castor Honors Tampa Bay Health Heroes
Every year during Black History Month, U. S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) pays tribute to community leaders and during this year’s cere- mony, she recognized local health heroes and champi- ons. Rep. Castor’s written tributes to these community leaders will be memorialized in the Congressional Record.
Dr. Dana Glenn, Women’s Center
Medical Director at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. Dr. Glenn is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and she is a member of the American Medical Associa- tion.
Her professional and community services include: VA National Women’s Health Services Mini-Residency Fac- ulty participating in national
U. S. REP. KATHY CASTOR
and local lectures to train women’s health staff as well as Affiliate Assistant Profes- sor at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine teaching internal medicine residents.
She has been a volunteer speaker at numerous church- based community health pro- grams focusing on women’s health issues.
Dr. Kevin Sneed, tenured professor and the founding dean of the University of South Florida (USF) College of Pharmacy, attended the University of Central Florida to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology with a concentration in Mi- crobiology. Dr. Sneed then received his Doctor of Phar- macy degree from Xavier University of Louisiana Col- lege of Pharmacy, where he received numerous clinical and leadership awards.
He returned to Florida to complete an Ambulatory Care/Primary Care Pharmacy Practice Specialty Residency at Bay Pines Veteran’s Ad- ministration Medical Center. Prior to joining USF, Dr. Sneed was a faculty member at Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy. He joined USF Health as assis- tant dean and then founded its College of Pharmacy, which this year will celebrate its 10-year anniversary since welcoming its first charter class.
Dr. Sneed is active in na- tional and state organiza- tions, among which include the American Heart Associa- tion, Association of Black Cardiologists, National Phar- maceutical Association, American Society of Health- System Pharmacists, Ameri- can Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Florida Pharmacy Association, Florida Society of Health-System Pharma- cists, Kappa Alpha Psi Frater- nity, Inc, and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.
Ms. Heddie Sumpter, tireless advocate who has
brought a voice on behalf of the African-American com- munity to organizations such as the American Cancer Soci- ety, moved to Tampa, FL, in the 1970s to attend the Uni- versity of South Florida. She was the first of her 13 siblings to attend college. She com- pleted her bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems.
After a short stint back in Detroit, Ms. Sumpter re- turned to Tampa with her daughter in the 1980s to stay with her grandmother during her remaining years of life. Sadly, her grandmother suc- cumbed to lung cancer in 1989, but this moment opened a new chapter in Ms. Sumpter’s life and for the next 30 years she would ded- icate herself to educating our African American population about preventing cancer, available resources and re- ducing health disparities through her tireless volun- teering with the American Cancer Society.
As a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she serves as its national liai- son to St. Jude Children’s Re- search Hospital as well as March of Dimes, and has been instrumental in forging a national partnership be- tween the Deltas and the American Cancer Society.
Ms. Sumpter now works at her alma mater, the Uni- versity of South Florida, where she has also dedicated more than three decades and now at the College of The Arts as a human resources admin- istrator.
Dr. Patrick Vincent, is the retired pastor of Mount Calvary Seventh-day Adven- tist Church in East Tampa and chair of Calvary Commu- nity Clinic. For the past nearly 20 years he has called Tampa Bay his home and for his pastoral service leading the congregation of Mount Calvary Seventh Day Adven- tist (SDA) Church since 2001 until his retirement in 2016.
He started his preparation for ministry at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Maracas Valley, a few miles northeast of his childhood home. He then attended Mandeville, Jamaica to com- plete his Bachelor’s degree at the Northern Caribbean Uni- versity. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews Univer-
sity in Michigan. He com- pleted his Doctor of Ministry degree at Vanderbilt Univer- sity Divinity School.
As the senior pastor of Mount Calvary SDA Church in Tampa, Dr. Vincent led his congregation into their beautiful new sanctuary and reconstructed the church’s school. But Dr. Vincent’s vision went beyond serving the congregation of his church. He led a survey within the East Tampa com- munity where his church is located to determine the most critical need.
In response to the grow- ing uninsured population in this area, the Calvary Com- munity Clinic was established in 2015 to provide quality, compassionate health care.
Today, Dr. Vincent serves as the chair of the Board of Directors for the clinic and a volunteer staff of certified physicians, physi- cians’ assistants, nurse prac- titioners, nurses, pharmacists, counselors, so- cial workers, and clerical and support personnel to provide free healthcare and health ed- ucation services to the unin- sured, underserved and working poor individuals and families of East Tampa and Hillsborough County.
“I’m grateful to come to- gether with many of our neighbors this Black History Month to lift up some im- pactful leaders who come from our Congressional Dis- trict. Our community is full of talented individuals who’ve devoted themselves to public service, and I hope that the stories of our health care he- roes inspire everyone who hears them,” said Rep. Cas- tor.
“I am particularly im- pressed by the students of Tampa Bay Tech who joined today and hope that they are emboldened to follow the ex- amples of our honorees to continue to pursue careers in health care and bring positive change to our communities.”
Students from Tampa Bay Tech High School’s medical magnet program joined the event as attendees and had the opportunity to ask ques- tions. These Academy of Health Profession students are learning skills that will help them enter the medical job market and are prepared for post-secondary, technical, or college/university educa- tion.
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