Grand Island, Neb. — Richard Fruehling, MD, FAAFP, was presented with the 2012 Physician Excellence Award on Friday, March 30, at Saint Francis Medical Center as part of the hospital’s Doctor’s Day celebration.

Fruehling has chaired the Continuing Medical Education Committee at Saint Francis since its inception in 1993. In his CME role, Fruehling has volunteered many hours of his time to help ensure that area physicians, residents and medical students have easy access to meaningful educational opportunities.

In his nomination letter for the Physician Excellence Award, here is a sampling of what was said about Fruehling:

• “Dr. Fruehling exemplifies all the core values of Saint Francis Medical Center.”
• “He is a born leader and never hesitates to share his time and talents to help others. Dr. Fruehling is very honest in all he does and is well-respected in our community and he is very reliable and very responsive to requests, even when he is extremely busy.”
• “Dr. Fruehling’s humor helps lighten even the most difficult situation or topics. He exhibits kindness and compassion with all and is very approachable.”
• “Dr. Fruehling commitment to recruit and train rural family medicine physicians has spanned nearly 20 years. Past graduates of our Family Medicine Residency program continue to stay in contact with Dr. Fruehling and his wife, Sandy, because of the trusting, lifelong relationships forged.”

Nominees for the 2012 Physician Excellence Award at Saint Francis included: Dr. Joshua Anderson (neurosurgery), Dr. Steven Boyer (family medicine), Dr. Shane Burr (physical medicine), Dr. Tim Knudsen (Otorhynology), Dr. Brant Luebbe (surgery), Dr. Kim Mickels (internal medicine), Dr. Joel Paraiso (neurology) and Dr. Pedro Perez (pain physician).

About Saint Francis Medical Center

Saint Francis Medical Center is a nonprofit faith-based hospital serving Central Nebraska with state-of-the-art healthcare services. A new patient tower was completed in 2007 with 159 acute-care patient rooms, including the Family Birthing Center, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Intensive Care Unit and a 10-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit. Saint Francis also operates a Cancer Treatment Center in Grand Island and Hastings, a Skilled Care Unit and an alcohol and drug treatment center.

About Catholic Health Initiatives

Saint Francis Medical Center is part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), a national nonprofit health organization with headquarters in Englewood, Colo. The faith-based system operates in 19 states and includes 73 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two community health-services organizations; two accredited nursing colleges; and home health agencies. In fiscal year 2011, CHI provided more than $612 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With annual operating revenues of approximately $9.6 billion, CHI is the nation's third-largest Catholic health care system.