Quinnipiac’s Dr. Ramon Gonzalez Receives Visionary Award

HAMDEN, CT — Dr. Ramon Gonzalez, of Guilford, medical director of the Radiologist Assistant and Physician Assistant programs at Quinnipiac University and founder of Quinnipiac’s Community Access Imaging Services, received the Visionary Award during the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce’s 15th annual Regional Health Care Breakfast and Awards ceremony June 13 at Cascade Fine Catering in Hamden.

“It was an honor to receive this award recognizing the importance of volunteerism in health-care service for the less fortunate,” Gonzalez said in a press release.( To sign up for Hamden breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Gonzalez was recognized for his contributions to the health and wellness of low-income residents in Greater New Haven. Community Access Imaging Services is a weekly clinic that offers free diagnostic imaging to low-income, uninsured or underinsured residents of the Greater New Haven area. The clinic also provides diagnostic imaging training and clinical experience to students from Quinnipiac’s School of Health Sciences and the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine.

“This award is in recognition of our mission and it belongs to everybody involved with the clinic based at Quinnipiac,” Gonzalez said. “That is what is important to me.”

Gonzalez said he was “extremely honored” to receive the award and particularly happy to share the stage with Dr. Suzanne Lagarde, CEO of Fair Haven Community Health Center.

“Dr. Lagarde refers about 90 percent of our patients to Community Access Imaging Services,” he said. “It was a sweet moment for the two of us.”

The program is a partnership with Community Health Centers in New Haven and Project Access, and funded by Quinnipiac University and the Seedlings Foundation in Branford, which supports programs that tend to the physical and mental health of children and families, and foster an educated and engaged citizenship.

Gonzalez leads a dedicated team of students, faculty and staff from the School of Health Sciences’ Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Radiologic Sciences and Physician Assistant programs, along with students from the School of Medicine, to offer free medical imaging services including ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, X-ray and bone density tests on the North Haven Campus.

Seventy percent of the patients served are women, and most are undocumented. All are either uninsured or underinsured; 95 percent of CAI’s patients speak Spanish and require translation services. Half of all patients require round-trip transportation services, which are scheduled and provided via the CAI clinic. In addition, students and faculty from Quinnipiac’s School of Law provide pro bono legal services to address the urgent social and legal needs of CAI patients.

Since it was founded in 2013, Quinnipiac’s CAI team has provided services valued at more than $1.1 million to more than 1,600 patients in the greater New Haven area. Through its work, the CAI has diagnosed potentially serious conditions, including a cerebral aneurysm; lung, thyroid, ovarian and renal tumors; and congenital, skeletal and neurological malformations.

Contributed article and photo from Quinnipiac University