YNHH honors three New Haven students with Martin Luther King, Jr. awards

Yale New Haven Hospital has had a long tradition of honoring employees and, more recently, members of the community, who live the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

During Black History Month, YNHH honored three New Haven students with $1,000 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Awards for their significant contributions to their community.

All three students are seniors in a New Haven public high school and two of them are interns at YNHH.

Paul Patton, vice president, Administration, congratulated the students for their community service. To be eligible to apply for the YNHH award, each student contributed at least an additional 40 hours more than is required by their school.

"We are always inspired by young people and you are on the good path," he told them at a small reception. "We support what you're doing and are interested in your continued success. You are putting the ideals that Dr. King lived into your own lives. Please keep up your good work."

The three recipients of the awards are:

• Janiris Corretger, Hillhouse High School, an intern in the hospital's Protective Services Department, will join the US Army this summer; she volunteers for the Agency on Aging and PAL summer camps
• Hannah Greene, Career High School, tutors at New Haven Reads and volunteers for Habitat and the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
• Lizmarie Serrano, Career High School, an intern in YNHH's Diagnostic Radiology department, volunteers to feed the homeless and is an after-school teacher

In addition to the substantial investment of time in their communities, applicants for the hospital's MLK Community Service Award must also write an essay and provide three references. New Haven public high school counselors have the application forms which will be due each year in early December.

Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), part of Yale New Haven Health, is a nationally recognized, 1,541-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine (YSM). Founded as the fourth voluntary hospital in the U.S. in 1826, today, YNHH has two New Haven-based campuses, and also includes Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital and Smilow Cancer Hospital. YNHH has received Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nation’s highest honor of nursing excellence. YNHH has a combined medical staff of about 4,500 university and community physicians practicing in more than 100 specialties. www.ynhh.org