A night filled with talent and red-carpet flair, all to help BRIDGE Clinic [video]

USF Health’s best friends and supporters filled the TPepin Hospitality Centre Jan. 8 for the 5^th Annual BANDaids for BRIDGE Talent Show. The evening entertained all with nine acts, opening performances, lots of banter, a silent auction of nearly two dozen offerings, and everyone in their red-carpet attire – all for the cause of raising funds and awareness of the USF Health BRIDGE Clinic.

Winning this year’s BANDaids for BRIDGE Talent Show was a trio of students who combined their talents of voice, violin, saxophone and flute, performing “Leona Lewis and Beyonce Mashup.” The three winning talents are College of Public Health graduate student Cienna Welsey on voice, fourth-year medical student Samson Lu on violin, and Latin Grammy award-nominated artist Jose Valentino Ruiz on saxophone and flute, who is pursuing his PhD in Music Education at USF.

From left, Cienna Wesley, Samson Lu, and Jose Valentino Ruiz.

Runners up include: Preethi Rajan, Tigris Haran, Joel Perez, Philip Bowers, Carly Waldman, Hillary McMullin, Aleksandra Bacewicz, Daphne Porat, Katrina Wachter, Katie Allen, Abdul Rahman Hashimie, and Amanda Brennan, as Say Ahh! Capella; Jameson Kuang, who performed “Chopin Waltz in A♭ Major” on piano; and Nupur Godbole, Om Prakash Nankissoor, Harish Shyam, and Natalie Menendez performing USF Naach.

Jameson Kuang

This year’s event drew three of the four founders of the BRIDGE Clinic: Dr. Waldo Guerrero, Dr. Sam Crane and Dr. Omar Hammad (Dr. Shelby Kent was unable to attend). The event is a wonderful way to help continue their vision of offering access to quality care to an underserved population, said co-founder Waldo Guerrero, MD, assistant professor of neurology in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“Free clinics are one of several safety nets for those who don’t have insurance and this BRIDGE Clinic is a great way to meet their health care needs,” Dr. Guerrero said. “I still volunteer at BRIDGE as an attending physician and the experience always reminds me of why I went into medicine. The patients are so appreciative of the care they are getting from us.”

From left, BRIDGE Clinic founders Dr. Omar Hammad, Dr. Sam Crane, and Dr. Waldo Guerrero (not pictured is Dr. Shelby Kent, who was unable to attend the Talent Show).

Since opening in 2007 , the BRIDGE Clinic has moved into clinical space in the Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare on the USF main campus, and expanded into space provided by Florida Hospital, which allowed the Clinic to offer an additional night each week to help meet the demand for access to quality health care. Both sites offer MCOM students a greater education, said Bryan Bognar, MD, vice dean of the Office of Educational Affairs for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“This talent show is one of the key fundraising events for the BRIDGE Clinic, a student-led, student-run free clinic,” Dr. Bognar said. “That Clinic represents the very best of inter-professional education and inter-professional health care delivery and so represents USF Health.”

Dr. Charles Lockwood.

Talent Show Emcees for the evening were Dr. Charles Lockwood, USF Health’s senior vice president and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, and Michael Carr, talent show director and third-year medical student.

Third-year medical student Michael Carr.

Providing insightful feedback and humor were this year’s judges: Bryan Bognar, MD, vice dean of the Office of Educational Affairs for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine; Joel D. Momberg USF senior vice president of Advancement and Alumni Affairs and CEO of the USF Foundation; Dr. Rahul Mehra, alum of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry residency program and Chief Medical Officer of MehraVista Health; and Dr. Madeline Snyder, first-year internal medicine resident in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and creator of the BANDaids for Bridge talent show.

Judges Dr. Bryan Bognar and Dr. Rahul Mehra.

Sponsors for the evening included: USF Health as Showstopper; Pepin Distributing, Couch Family Foundation, Wesley Chapel Toyota, Florida Hospital, Jay Carlson Photography, Dr. Fred and Sheree Slone, Dr. Mariam Menezes and Dr. Lynette Menezes, Mr. Richard Stegemeier and Mrs. Roberta H. Stegemeier, Dr. Valerie Riddle and David Reader, Ricardo Rendel, Tampa Bay Sporting Clays, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Lightning, USF Athletics Department, The Oxford Exchange, Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants, Tampa Improv Comedy Theater and Restaurant, Carol Prokap and PRP Wine International, Yeungling Brewery, Bella Prana Yoga, The Gift Box Boutique, and The Brunchery.

Production team included: Michael Carr, Director; Vidhya Krishnan, Assistant Director; Megan, Melody Producer; Madison Collins, Assistant Producer; Nupur Godbole, Creative Director; Gautam Rao, Production Assistant; Kevin Hong, Marketing Director; and Jonathan Nilson, Technical Director.

This year’s full lineup included:

Thoracic Park: Edward Oh, Andre Lee, John Cassel, Usman Ahmad, Jameson Kuang, Scott Hoeckele

The Prayer: Elaine Tan

Say Ahh! Capella: Preethi Rajan, Tigris Haran, Joel Perez, Philip Bowers, Carly Waldman, Hillary McMullin, Aleksandra Bacewicz, Daphne Porat, Katrina Wachter, Katie Allen, Abdul Rahman Hashimie, Amanda Brennan

Leona Lewis and Beyonce Mashup: Samson Lu, Cienna Wesley, Jose Valentino Ruiz

Beauty and the Beast: Ollie Marseglia, Bionqua Lynch

Chopin Waltz in Ab Major: Jameson Kuang

Pirates of the Vitamin Sea: Caroline Bresnan, Katherine Woo, Key Yan Tsoi, Jude Nawlo

USF Naach: Nupur Godbole, Om Prakash Nankissoor, Harish Shyam, Natalie Menendez

Also performing at program interludes were: Madeline Snyder and Joel Momberg performing “White Coat Blues” and Mark Bender, Doris Deng, Abhinav Mohan, Shane Leighton, Raj Patel, Megan Melody performing “Mixomas.”