Feb 20, 2024
OLEAN — The Olean YMCA’s 38th annual Salute to Olean will be held March 7 with seven Olean-area residents honored for their commitment to the community.
The first honoree, Dr. Jill Owens, was born and raised in Bradford, Pa., where the community and diverse culture shaped her outlook on life from an early age and played a large role in owning her private practice in Bradford for the last 24 years.
In 2012, Owens began doing administrative work part-time for the Upper Allegheny Health System and Olean General Hospital’s physician practices. During the early part of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, she took on more full-time responsibilities by helping the health system prepare for and deal with the various challenges brought on by COVID-19. Consequently, Owens moved into the Chief Medical Officer role and then President of the Upper Allegheny Health System. As of May 2022, she now oversees both Olean General Hospital and Bradford Regional Medical Center.
In the realm of achievements, Owens stands as a testament to dedication and excellence. She has successfully run her own private family medicine office, advocated for rural healthcare at the American Medical Association at the local, state and federal level; was awarded YWCA Woman of the Year in 2009; and received multiple awards including University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Distinguished Alumni Award (2010), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Faculty Teaching Award (2012), BRMC Physician Honoree (2017), Alpha Omega Alpha Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; 2018) and Buffalo Business First 200 Power Women (2023).
Throughout her formative years, Owens actively sought opportunities to give back to her community. She engaged in various volunteer experiences, such as being a manager of her children’s sports, Bradford Youth Hockey Club, even having the pleasure of helping coach her son’s team last year.
Owens has also taken part in multiple short-term medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic, has been a volunteer physician at the Bradford Free Clinics since its founding and volunteered at the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the Birmingham Free Clinic, where she provided care to the homeless during her time at medical school in Pittsburgh.
Furthermore, Owens volunteers her time as Medical Director of the McKean County Children’s Advocacy Center, overseeing the medical care of abused children in McKean County.
One of Owens’s most rewarding volunteer experiences occurred during her short-term medical mission work in the Dominican Republic. She dedicated 11 years to this endeavor, spanning throughout her residency and early career as a physician. During those trips to the Dominican Republic, Owens would provide care to Dominican people as well as Haitian refugees. Oftentimes in the Haitian villages, she would treat people who had never had formal medical care in their life. Owens reflects on it as a humbling experience, marking it as one of the most rewarding moments in her career.
These experiences not only broadened Owens’s perspective but also fueled her passion for service and philanthropy. It has always been her mission to make sure that her rural community had good access to medical care.
Owens wanted to make sure the Olean, Bradford and surrounding areas had stable and sustainable access to care. This has been the driving force behind her taking on many roles in the region’s healthcare system, ultimately culminating in taking the position as UAHS President. Owens emphasizes that she will continue to do her best to ensure that our region has accessible and financially sustainable care.
In addition to her commitment to community service, Owens finds joy in a variety of hobbies that enrich her life such as gardening, hiking and running. Someday, she hopes to travel and experience the world.
Salute to Olean will be held at St. Bonaventure University’s Doyle Hall Conference Center and honor Alan Bernstein and Paula Fidurko Bernstein, David and Barbara Hastings, Dr. Jill Owens and Sandy and Connie Wolfinger.
The public is invited to join in this celebration of the community’s most valuable asset — its people. A reception will begin at 5 p.m. followed by dinner at 6.
Reservations may be made online at https://t.ly/i6oda. Corporate and patron tables, seating 10 people, are $700 each; single patron tickets are $75 each; and individual reservations are $65 per person. Reservations will be accepted until Thursday.