‘Medicine that Matters’ gala raises more than $1 million to support health care for homeless

Dorchester resident and BHCHP president Dr. Jim O’Connell and CEO Barry Boch, of Roslindale, congratulates one of the night’s honorees, attorney Mala Rafik, of Jamaica Plain.

Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) honored Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) and its president and CEO Andrew Dreyfus as well as attorney Mala Rafik, the managing partner at Boston-based law firm Rosenfeld & Rafik, P.C, at its “Medicine That Matters” gala on May 21 at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel.

BCBSMA and Dreyfus received the BHCHP’s Tim Russert Award for raising public awareness of homelessness and seeking creative ways to care for our most vulnerable neighbors. Rafik received the Dr. Jim O’Connell Award for her sage legal counsel and her advocacy for the health and disability rights of the organization’s patients.

The gala, which raised over $1 million, had over 600 people and was emceed by Reverend Liz Walker, award-winning journalist and pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church. The dinner’s co-chairs were Phil Johnston, president of Philip W. Johnston Associates and former Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Phyllis Yale, an advisory partner with Bain & Company. Honorary co-chairs were Governor Charlie Baker and First Lady Lauren Baker, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Eileen and Jack Connors and Jean C. Tempel.

Since 1985, BHCHP has been delivering exceptional medical and behavioral health services to homeless individuals and families in Greater Boston. Each year, BHCHP cares for more than 11,000 patients wherever they are— on the streets, at 45 clinics including ones at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Medical Center, and in our medical respite facilities, the Barbara McInnis House and the Stacy Kirkpatrick House.


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