After the 34th annual Rose Mass at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda seeking God’s blessings on those who work in health care, the John Carroll Society at a luncheon presented its 2026 Pro Bono Health Care Awards and honors for health care ministry and lifetime service in health care.
In addition to honoring people for their health care service, the luncheon also highlighted the work of the Catholic Charities Health Care Network, which was founded in 1984 by Cardinal James Hickey, then the archbishop of Washington, who commissioned three physicians – Dr. Thomas Curtin, Dr. Edmund Pellegrino and Dr. John Harvey – to develop a health care network to serve those in need in the Washington area.
According to Catholic Charities, in Fiscal Year 2025, the network was supported by 1,889 volunteers, including physicians, dentists, physical therapists and other health care professionals working in private practice, and at participating hospitals and clinics. The network coordinated 2,934 referrals and facilitated 2,618 specialty appointments, delivering an estimated $12.2 million in pro-bono medical services for 1,522 uninsured and low-income clients in the Archdiocese of Washington. Physicians and specialists serving with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network contributed 2,816 volunteer hours.
The John Carroll Society, which sponsored the Mass, luncheon and awards, is named for Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore, who in 1789 was named as the first Catholic bishop in the 13 original states. Members of the Catholic group work in varied professions in the metropolitan area and assist the archbishop of Washington in works of charity and community projects.
At the luncheon, the John Carroll Society’s 2026 Pro Bono Health Care Awards were presented by Dr. Thomas Loughney, the Rose Mass Committee chair who is a gastroenterologist and currently serves as director of Endoscopy at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and is an associate professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Praising the outreach of the Catholic Charities Health Care Network, Dr. Loughney said that for those in the health professions, “it is one of the most rewarding things you can do.”
The recipients of the John Carroll Society’s 2026 Pro Bono Health Care Awards included:
- Dr. Shelly Hall, a dermatologist and longstanding volunteer with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network who has been in private practice in Chevy Chase since 2007, providing comprehensive medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatologic care to patients throughout the Washington area.
- Alvina Eugenia Long, who along with fellow members of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac founded the Mercy Health Clinic in 2000 to provide free health care to low-income patients in Montgomery County, and she served as its first executive director for 12 years.
- Dr. Reetu Mukherji, a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers who has cared for uninsured patients with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network for many years.
Also at the luncheon, the recipient of the 2026 Msgr. Harry A. Echle Award for Outstanding Service in Health Care Ministry was announced as Father Robert Maro, the coordinator for the pastoral care of priests in the Archdiocese of Washington. Father Maro was commended for providing pastoral support to approximately 270 active and retired priests, accompanying them through the major transitions of their lives and ministries and assisting them with practical needs. The Rose Mass Luncheon program noted that “Father Rob now considers it a profound joy and privilege to support and serve the priests who have given their lives so generously to Christ and His Church.”
And the John Carroll Society presented the 2026 James Cardinal Hickey Lifetime Service Award to Dr. Thomas Winkler, an ear, nose and throat physician and the founder of Chevy Chase ENT Associates who is a longtime volunteer with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network.
In interviews after the luncheon, the honorees reflected on their work and what their volunteer service means to them.
Dr. Shelly Hall – a native Washingtonian who grew up as a member of St. Patrick Parish in Rockville and is now a parishioner at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase – said she was humbled to receive an award “for something so natural to do, to help others.”
The Rose Mass Luncheon program commended the dermatologist as someone “whose professional life reflects a deep commitment to service, faith and clinical excellence.”
Dr. Hall, a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Medicine, was commended for her volunteer service with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network, where she provides dermatologic care to uninsured and underinsured individuals, including patients with serious and debilitating skin conditions.
The luncheon program noted, “Dr. Hall’s service through Catholic Charities is marked not only by clinical expertise but also by compassion, humility and respect for each individual she treats. She approaches every patient encounter with a clear understanding that access to specialty medical care is a matter of human dignity.”
In an interview, Dr. Hall reflected on serving people in need, saying, “I feel I’m so fortunate I’m giving back. I love the patients. They’re so grateful… You’re doing the kind of work we should be doing, based on the teachings of Jesus and the Gospel.”
Alvina Long explained the genesis of the founding of the Mercy Health Clinic, saying parishioners in the Social Concerns Committee at Our Lady of Mercy reflected on “what are we doing for the poor?”
The Mercy Health Clinic in Gaithersburg staffed by volunteer health care professionals provides high quality, primary and specialty healthcare, medications and health education, free-of-charge for 2,200 low-income patients annually. The all-volunteer physician clinic is a nonprofit, nonsectarian outreach.
In addition to being a founding member of the Mercy Health Clinic and its first executive director, Alvina Long also served as the chair of its board from 2009 to 2013. Describing her service there, the Rose Mass Luncheon program said, “Alvina brought to the Mercy Clinic the maturity and intuition of a woman whose own life experiences and faith in God allowed her to offer empathy to ‘hurt with the patients.’”
In that work, she collaborated with other parishioners, including doctors and nurses, and with organizations including Catholic Charities.
She recently created Carderock Village, a nonprofit volunteer organization focusing on helping seniors age in place in their homes with support including transportation to medical appointments, assistance with household tasks, and opportunities for social engagement.
“I just feel humbled by being part of a caring community like this,” Long said after receiving her award.
Dr. Reetu Mukherji said she accepted the award on behalf of her entire team of colleagues, because “it takes a village” to care for cancer patients. Their patients whom they care for through the Catholic Charities Health Care Network “are the most grateful patients we have,” she said.
Dr. Mukherji serves as an assistant professor of medicine at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, caring for patients with cancers, including colon, pancreatic, liver and esophageal cancer. She said one of the most rewarding aspects of her work is “just being able to be there and comfort patients and families through one of the most terrifying and stressful times of their lives.” Her research efforts focus on drug development and biomarkers for gastrointestinal cancers, and she said scientific advances are enabling patients to experience a better quality of life and a better chance at survival.
The Rose Mass Luncheon program noted that in presenting the James Cardinal Hickey Lifetime Service Award to Dr. Thomas Winkler, “it is fitting to recognize not a single act of generosity, but a life consistently and joyfully given to the service of others.”
While studying at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, he served with the Catholic Office for Emergency, Relief and Refugees, assisting patients at a refugee camp on the border of Thailand and Cambodia, and at a pediatric clinic in the Bahamas.
Dr. Winkler’s 10 years of service as a physician in the United States Army included serving as the commander of the Wiesbaden Airbase Clinic in Germany during Operation Desert Shield, and as the officer-in-charge of the Head and Neck Trauma team in Landstuhl, Germany during the Bosnian War.
In addition to his practice as an ear, nose and throat physician with Chevy Chase ENT and Audiology, Dr. Winkler is a clinical assistant professor at Georgetown University Medical Center.
The member of the Church of the Little Flower said that caring for patients through the Catholic Charities Health Care Network “is an honor. It’s the most rewarding part of my practice, taking care of people where we know we are making a difference.”
Dr. Winkler was praised in the Rose Mass Luncheon program for “the way he practices medicine – taking whatever time each patient needs, offering the kind of care and attention that produces not just excellent outcomes, but fosters genuine human dignity… That same spirit has animated his partnership with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. Tom has opened his practice and his expertise to patients who might otherwise go without care, receiving each one with the respect and compassion each person deserves.”
The physician said taking care of people in need and making a difference in their lives “is a simple heartfelt work of joy.” Helping to bring healing to people as a doctor “is a calling, and it’s very rewarding,” he said.
(Anyone interested in volunteering to assist the Catholic Charities Health Care Network can contact the program manager, Esperanza Abarca, at 202-519-3566 or email esperanza.abarca@cc-dc.org .)
