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Dr. Joseph Zanthos named Shelby County Healthcare Professional of the Year. (Reporter photo/Alec Etheredge)

By BARTON PERKINS | Staff Writer

Pelham – A total of 21 Shelby County healthcare professionals were honored at The Shelby County Chamber’s ninth annual Healthcare Professional of the Year Luncheon on Wednesday, June 28.

In addition to recognizing and awarding healthcare workers across Shelby County, the luncheon included a keynote presentation from Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, who discussed mental wellness and what it means to cultivate a positive mindset.

Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, fondly called Dr. Leesha by her patients, is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist. Dr. Leesha talked about the idea of cultivating a positive mindset in our daily lives and how that can often open us up to new opportunities and experiences.

“In a society where it’s easy to focus on the negative, what went wrong and what failed—it’s really countercultural to choose to see the good,” Dr. Ellis-Cox said. “It’s a powerful mindset shift that allows you to actively see the positive in any person, situation or circumstances.”

Dr. Ellis-Cox discussed how embracing this mentality of seeing the positive side often helps people who suffer from stress and feelings of failure. But it also helps us empathize with others by trying to find the positive aspects of those different from ourselves. Dr. Ellis-Cox finished her speech by encouraging people to meet others from different walks of life and to find out what they have in common with each other. 

“We tend to feel most comfortable with those that look like us, that they’re from where we are. But there are so many things that unite us,” said Ellis-Cox. “We need to find common ground and see that we may share more similarities than we expect.” 

After Dr. Ellis-Cox’s presentation, all nominees were presented with a plaque before the winners of the four awards were announced.

The four awards given out were Heart of Healthcare, Committed to Community, Legacy of Excellence and Healthcare Professional of the Year.  Nominees who qualified for the awards had to work in Shelby County, be dedicated to healthcare, and have achieved outstanding status in the healthcare community.

The recipients for each category included:

• Heart of Healthcare – Elise Hearn with  Shaklee Corporation
• Committed to Community – Dr. Robert Bradford Jr. of Smiles for Keeps
• Legacy of Excellence – Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox of Central Alabama
• Healthcare Professional of the Year – Dr. Joseph Zanthos with Premier Family Dentistry 

The 2023 Nominees in alphabetical order by last name were:

• Dr. Kelli Albritton and Dr. Ann Ardovino of Albritton & Ardovino Family Dentistry
• Dr. Alana Alexander of A² Pharmacy Solutions
• Dr. Tim Ansely of Inverness Eye Care
• Nathan Bower of Uncommon Physical Therapy
• Dr. Robert Frank Bradford Jr. of Smiles for Keeps
• Dr. Trenton Buchanan of Greystone Smile Design
• Dr. Jay Crisman of 280 Animal Medical Center
• Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox of Central Alabama
• Jeff Daniel of Ascension St Vincents
• Dr. Stacey Defranco of Helena Family Dentistry
• Dr. Thomas Dudney of Alabaster Aesthetic Dentistry
• Elise Hearn of Shaklee Corporation
• Robby Head of Therapy South
• Dr. Michelle Jones of Chelsea Family Dentistry
• Justin R. Johnston of Hope Health Clinic
• Michelle Knight of Integrative Health Services
• Irma Palmer of Chiropractic Today 
• Dr. Logan Pastor of Cadence Chiropractic
• Dr. Graham Rowland of Alabaster Eye Care
• Candice Woodfin of Ascension St Vincents
• Dr. Joseph Zanthos of Premier Family Dentistry

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