CCFCS Employee named RBJ 2024 Health Care Hero

Rochester, NY – Catholic Charities Family and Community Services (CCFCS) is pleased to announce an exemplary employee has been named a 2024 Health Care Hero by the Rochester Business Journal.

Teresa O’Connor is a Family Nurse Practitioner and the primary medical provider for up to 75 residents of CCFCS substance use treatment homes. She gives them on-site care, medical advice, and education about managing disease and chronic illness. The patients who turn to her for help have faced challenges most people cannot imagine, such as extreme poverty, homelessness, and even prison. Her mission is to help them become medically stable as they work on their recovery from drug and alcohol use.

“Teresa O’Connor demonstrates leadership and compassionate care every day,” says Lori VanAuken, President & CEO of CCFCS. “We are proud to work with her in service to our clients throughout Rochester and surrounding counties.”

In addition to her role as CCFCS Nurse Practitioner, O’Connor is a mentor for nursing students at St. John Fisher University, teaching future nurses how to care and advocate for patients who are vulnerable, as they attempt to improve their lives and recover from addiction. O’Connor will be honored by the Rochester Business Journal at the Health Care Hero awards celebration at the Hyatt Regency Rochester on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 9:30am.