SEMC Celebrates 150th Anniversary of Service to the Community

Front row, left, Robert Upton of Utica, winner of the Mother Bernardina Award, is joined by Louis Tehan, president and CEO of Upstate Cerebral Palsy, winner of the Founder’s Day Community Award at St. Elizabeth Medical Center. Back row, left are Scott Perra, Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) president/CEO, and Robert Scholefield, MVHS executive vice president/COO.

UTICA, N.Y. – St. Elizabeth Medical Center (SEMC) celebrated its 150th anniversary Monday, December 12, 2016, by honoring an employee and a recipient of its community award. 

Following a 12 p.m. Founder’s Day service in the SEMC Saint Marianne Cope Chapel, Louis Tehan, president and CEO of Upstate Cerebral Palsy, received the Founder’s Day Community Award and Robert Upton received the Mother Bernardina Award, which is named after SEMC’s founder and is presented to an employee. The winner of the latter award is chosen by SEMC employees for significant contributions to the medical center, exemplifying its mission, vision and philosophy and for always going the extra mile.

Upstate Cerebral Palsy is located in Utica at 932 South Street at the corner of Hammond Avenue. It serves families of Whitesboro, Yorkville, New York Mills, New Hartford, Washington Mills, and many other towns throughout the Greater Utica area. Today, UCP has more than 2,000 employees at over 80 locations and is an organization dedicated to “empowering people through exceptional opportunities." It has received several esteemed awards prior to this that recognize the high quality of care Upstate Cerebral Palsy provides, as well as praise for its sound business practices.

“Upstate Cerebral Palsy plays an important role our community,” said Scott H. Perra, president/CEO of the Mohawk Valley Health System and SEMC. “Its leader and his staff provide support to thousands of people with differing abilities and we are grateful to have them in the Mohawk Valley.”

Robert Upton of Utica has been employed at SEMC for 24 years. He currently works as a radiologic technologist in the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) Radiology Department. Upton is a graduate of Champlain Valley School in Plattsburgh, New York, and is a strong supporter of the Abraham House in Utica, where he has been a volunteer for 10 years. He has acted as a Big Brother to several children in the Utica area and is not only known for his selfless compassion but as an artist, a comic book creator and a baker of novelty cakes. 

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Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center are affiliates under the Mohawk Valley Health System.