Letter from Kathryn Dailey
Nominees Sought for Matsuo Award
Nominations for the 3rd Annual Compassionate Care Award, presented by Helios Care, will officially open on Tuesday, July 15. The award seeks to honor one individual who exemplifies Dr. Yoshiro Matsuo’s traits of compassion, kindness, leadership, benevolence, and selfless service to people across any discipline, and who lives or works in Otsego, Delaware, or Schoharie counties.
Nomination forms can be completed on the Helios Care website. The recipient of this award will receive a cash prize of $500.00, a commemorative award, and their name will be displayed on the award plaque at the Helios Care office. Nominations will close on August 22, and the award winner will be named at Helios Care’s Grand Oneonta Opry Country Concert Fundraiser on October 10 at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center in Oneonta.
The award has named two winners so far: Dr. Ben Friedell of Oneonta was the 2024 Award Winner and Lisa Schmitz of Otego received the inaugural Compassionate Care Award. Established in 2022, this award recognizes Dr. Matsuo’s unwavering commitment to hospice care in our region, his service to our country, and his medical contributions to countless citizens in our communities for more than 50 years.
Helios Care is the hospice and palliative care organization for Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties, formerly known as Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care Inc. Dr. Matsuo was one of Helios Care’s original founders and served as its medical director on a volunteer basis for 25 years, while also serving on active duty in the U.S. Army, and remained in the Army Reserves for 20 years, retiring as a colonel. At the same time that he was bringing hospice care to the area and serving his country, Dr. Matsuo practiced as a respected oncologist physician in the Oneonta area for over 50 years.
To learn more about this award and complete the nomination form, please go to the Helios Care website at https://www.helioscare.org/compassionate-care-award/. If you wish to nominate a person who was nominated last year, please do so using a new nomination form for consideration this year.
Kathryn Dailey
Director of Development
Helios Care
