Slovak named first director of Health Ministry

Slovak

BATH - The Health Ministry of the Southern Tier last week announced Mike Slovak of Bath has been named director of operations and development. He is the first person to hold this position.

According to HMST Board President Robert Gilchrist, the decision to hire a director of operations and development was brought about by the rapid growth of the not for profit Health Ministry which utilizes the services of volunteer doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, nurses, dental assistants and other staff to provide free medical care and prescription medication assistance to people without medical insurance or means of payment.

"Over the past few years we've experienced truly remarkable growth," said Gilchrist. "As a not-for- profit organization, we depend on the generosity of both volunteers and donors. But we have reached the stage in our growth that the management of our very successful regional Health Ministries now requires the services of a professional who can devote full time to facilitate the excellent work of our volunteers. As a Health Ministry volunteer himself, Slovak, who currently chairs our Bath Health Ministry Steering Committee and serves on the HMST Board of Directors, has demonstrated the leadership skills and knowledge of our mission, to lead us into the future."

In its ten years of operation, the Health Ministry of the Southern Tier, which originated in the rectory of St. Patrick's Church in Corning, has grown to include affiliated sites in Corning, Bath, Elmira and Watkins Glen. The Corning site is now located on the second floor of the Corning Public Library in a "Community Care Center" created and partially funded by the United Way of the Southern Tier. Other Community Care Centers which include Health Ministry offices are located at Catholic Charities Turning Point on Liberty Street, Bath and in the Elmira Medical Arts Building adjacent to St. Joseph's Hospital in Elmira. A fourth affiliated health ministry, Schuyler County Health Check is located in the Schuyler County Medical Health Office. It receives some financial assistance from the United Way of Schuyler County.

Prior to accepting this position with HMST, Mr. Slovak was president of Educational Designs & Initiatives, Bath, an Information management and computer systems consulting firm specializing in strategic and operations plan development and technology solutions for Non-Profit organization.

He holds a School District Administrative Certificate from New York State through the State University of New York at Cortland, a graduate degree in Education from Elmira College, and undergraduate teaching degrees in Chemistry and general sciences from the State University of New York in Cortland.

In addition to his volunteer service with Health Ministry of the Southern Tier, Slovak is currently president of the Bath Rotary Club and one of the organizers of the recent Lakeview Walkway Project. He has been a member of the Steuben Integrated Planning Advisory Board, The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Comprehensive District Education Planning Team and the St. Mary's Church (Bath) Finance Committee.

His previous community service includes 15 years on the Bath Haverling Central School Board including membership on the Budgeting/Finance, Facilities, Negotiation, Policy, Recognition, Technology and Long Range Planning Committees, the New York State Association of School Business Officials and the New York State School Boards Association. He has also volunteered and served as a consultant to Catholic Charities of Steuben County.

In recent years, Mr. Slovak has been recognized for his community service by the Rotary Club of Bath, the United Way of the Southern Tier (Errol Shand Award - 2005 and Pat Lesso Award - 2004); Catholic Charities of Steuben County - "Friend of Catholic Charities" - Annual Award - 2002 and the ProAction of Steuben and Yates, Inc. - "Steuben County Business of the Year" Award - 2002.

Mr. Slovak and his wife Jo, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment at the Honeoye Central School District reside in Bath.