Donna Costa, Oncology Community Outreach Manager for University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, is awarded The Jacqueline Chambers Advocate for the Underserved Awardat Susan G. Komen Maryland’s annual recognition event on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Pictured with her is Jackie Chambers’ son, Brad Chambers, president of MedStar Good Samaritan and MedStar Union Memorial Hospitals, who presented the award, named in honor of his late mother.
Donna Costa, Oncology Community Outreach Manager for University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, has been awarded The Jacqueline Chambers Advocate for the Under served Award by Susan G. Komen Maryland.
Jackie Chambers, as she was both respectfully and affectionately known in the Baltimore community, spent many years advocating for women’s issues and passionately working with the African-American community and women of color, on breast cancer early detection & prevention, education and survivorship. The award in her namewas created to recognize an individual who works tirelessly to address issues and improve outcomes for low-income and uninsured women, women of color, and other vulnerable populations that face barriers to appropriate breast health care.
Donna Costa has been an impassioned advocate for cancer prevention and treatment for more than 15 years, having volunteered at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, worked at Hopkins Sydney Kimmel Cancer Center, and currently, at UM St. Joseph Medical Center, helping to connect individuals in need to oncology screenings, programs and services that keep them healthy and well-informed. “Like many, many families, mine has been touched and profoundly impacted by a cancer diagnosis,” Donna says. “It’s extremely gratifying to have the opportunity to help others get the treatment and information they need to overcome their diagnosis and live longer, healthier lives.” Thomas B. Smyth, M.D, president and CEO of University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, agrees. “We are blessed that Donna is called to dothe work she does here,” he says. “Donna inspires patients and staff alike with her passion and her advocacy for those facing cancer. I can’t think of a more deserving recipient of this award.”
“Donna captured the true essence of the award,” says Brad Chambers, Jacqueline’s son and president of MedStar Good Samaritan and Union Memorial Hospitals, who presented Donna with The Jacqueline Chambers Advocate for the Underserved Award. “My mother’s focus had always been around providing breast cancer education and awareness to those less fortunate, and Donna carries forward that goal every day.”
For more information about cancer services and outreach programs at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, call 410-427-5585 or visit www.umstjoseph.org/cancer.
About UM St. Joseph Medical Center
UM St. Joseph Medical Center (UM SJMC), founded in 1864 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, is a 218-bed Catholic, not-for-profit regional medical center in Towson, Maryland. A member of the 13-hospital University of Maryland Medical System, UM SJMC is located in suburban Baltimore County, and offers a wide range of superb clinical programs and centers of excellence, including the Cancer, Heart and Orthopaedic Institutes, Women and Children’s services and Emergency Medicine. Our mission: To provide loving service and compassionate, leading-edge care to all. For more information visit www.umstjoseph.org.
About the University of Maryland Medical System
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is a university-based regional health care system focused on serving the health care needs of Maryland, bringing innovation, discovery and research to the care we provide, and educating the state’s future physicians and health care professionals through our partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the UM Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Dentistry in Baltimore. As one of the largest private employers in the State, the health system’s 28,000 employees and 3,500 affiliated physicians provide primary and specialty care in more than 150 locations and at 13 hospitals. UMMS’ flagship academic campus, the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, is recognized regionally and nationally for excellence and innovation in specialized care. Our acute care and specialty rehabilitation hospitals serve urban, suburban and rural communities and are located in 13 counties across the State. In addition, UMMS operates health insurance plans serving Medicare and Medicaid members. For more information, visit www.umms.org.
