700+ attend Annual AtlantiCare Gala
AtlantiCare raised over $640,000 in support of its clinical and community initiatives at theAtlantiCare Foundation’s 62nd annual Century Club Gala October 14 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, NJ. More than 700 people attended the event during which Jill Ojserkis, Esq., and Alexander Onopchenko, M.D., were presented with the Edward R. Knight Award.
“The AtlantiCare Foundation is dedicated to ensuring AtlantiCare has the support needed to achieve our vision of building healthy communities together,” said Michael Charlton, president and CEO, AtlantiCare. “Their work enables us to continue to provide the exceptional, award-winning care we are known for and we are grateful to those who attended and sponsored this important event.”
“Both Jill Ojserkis and Dr. Onopchenko have made innumerable contributions to the health and well-being of our community,” said David Goddard, chair, AtlantiCare Board. “We celebrate and acknowledge the significant, meaningful differences they have both made over the last 30 years that exemplify the essence of Dr. Knight’s commitment to community service.”
AtlantiCare established the Edward R. Knight Award in 1998 to honor those who contribute to building a healthier community. The award is named for the late Edward R. Knight, Ph.D., who was chair emeritus of AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s (ARMC’s) Board of Trustees and who devoted more than 50 years of service to improving healthcare for those who live and work in southeastern New Jersey.
Ojserkis said the honor was particularly meaningful to her because Knight recruited her to Atlantic City and introduced her to the work AtlantiCare – then Atlantic City Hospital – was doing in the community.
“I have done what I can to support those doing good works in Atlantic County, and I look forward to continuing to do so,” she said. “AtlantiCare has been the cornerstone of healthcare in our region for generations, providing essential care, support and hope for countless individuals and families. Your tireless commitment to our community’s well-being is inspiring and transformative. Your leadership and vision have shaped our healthcare landscape and molded our community in profound ways. Your willingness to adapt, innovate, and prioritize the health and happiness of our community is a testament to your unwavering dedication. I am honored to have had the privilege of working alongside such a dedicated team.”
“I am happy, humbled, and honored to receive Edward R. Knight Award,” said Onopchenko. “I realized from a young age that being a surgeon, having an immediate impact on the lives of my future patients, was going to be my lifetime goal. The main goal of our lives should be to make the world just a little bit better than what we found when we started, and to be sure that the changes we make survive beyond our own time. I am blessed and eternally grateful that I found the opportunity to do just that at AtlantiCare.” Onopchenko said he was fortunate to have leaders and mentors who taught him the art of surgery and the importance of teaching the next generation of physicians. He also acknowledged the physicians and other team members who have helped him care for patients.
Both individuals thanked their spouses, families, friends and colleagues for their support throughout their careers. Onopchenko also thanked, “the thousands of patients for whom I have had the honor and privilege of caring.”
About Jill T. Ojserkis, Esq.
Jill Ojserkis, Esq., of Linwood, NJ, is a partner in the Atlantic City office of Cooper Levenson Attorneys at Law, where she serves as chair of the firm’s Healthcare Law Practice Group and as a member of the Cannabis and Tax and Business Practice Groups. For more than three decades she has represented hospitals, health systems, medical staffs, ancillary providers, and individual licensed providers and practices in a variety of matters including health care business transactions, managed care and technology, medical staff matters and governance issues. She also represents health information exchanges and health technology companies and other businesses in a variety of regulatory and transactional matters.
Ojserkis is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association – Health Law Section and of the New Jersey and Atlantic County Bar associations. She generously gives of her time to support local and regional charities. She is an elected member and president, Mainland Regional High School Board of Education. She’s a trustee and past chair of the South Jersey AIDS Alliance and the Atlantic City Police Foundation. Ojserkis previously served on the boards of, and in various leadership roles for the AtlantiCare Foundation; Miss America Organization and Miss America Foundation; and other charities/civic organizations. She provides significant pro bono legal services to many Atlantic City area non-profits. She was previously inducted into the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame and has received numerous recognitions for her professional and civic activities. Ojserkis periodically serves as a judge for state pageants in the Miss America Organization system, including the Miss Nevada and Miss Oregon pageants, for which she served as a judge last summer.
About Alexander Onopchenko, M.D.
Alexander Onopchenko, M.D., of Linwood, NJ, has cared for the community since 1989. A board-certified general surgeon who specialized in bariatric surgery, he was the founding physician for AtlantiCare’s Center for Weight Loss, which opened in 2002 at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (ARMC) Atlantic City Campus. The American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery has designated ARMC’s program as a Bariatric Center of Excellence since 2005. This prestigious designation is due in part to his leadership as medical director of the program, and the patient outcomes he and the clinical and support teams he’s fostered have achieved.
In addition to his care of patients in the office and in the hospital, Onopchenko contributed to the personal and professional growth of current physicians and of healthcare providers of the future, through his leadership roles with AtlantiCare’s Graduate Medical Education Program. He served as ARMC’s regional dean for the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. He was program director for ARMC’s Regional Surgery Residency Program clinical site for the Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine Health. Onopchenko has also served on many community boards, including the AtlantiCare Foundation Board, on which he has served since 2016.
For more information about the AtlantiCare Foundation or other AtlantiCare programs and services, call the AtlantiCare Access Center 888-569-1000, visit atlanticare.org or follow AtlantiCare on social media
