Laramie Downtown Clinic Honors UWs Hart

The Laramie Downtown Clinic presented its Daniel S. Klein “Spirit of Volunteerism Award" to Ann Marie Hart, associate professor in the University of Wyoming Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing.

The Klein award is given annually to a volunteer who exemplifies the spirit of community service and commitment that makes the Downtown Clinic possible. The citation notes that Hart is employed by the clinic for a few hours each week as case manager, but volunteers "at least three times as much time, seeing clients throughout clinic time almost every week."

Following are quotes from clients who nominated Hart for the award:

-- “Ann Marie Hart is a very caring and giving person. Always has a smile on her face and cares about you as a person, not a patient.”

-- “Ann Marie Hart has gone above and beyond for us. We trust her and are so thankful for her.”

-- "Very thorough, compassionate and helpful with all my medical needs. Wonderful!"

Hart says she has been involved in the Downtown Clinic since its inception.

"I had the honor of volunteering on the night it first opened," she says.

UW School of Nursing namesake Fay Whitney noted, “Dr. Dan Klein was one of the first MDs in Laramie who taught collaboratively with the nurse practitioner program faculty at the UW School of Nursing, also as a volunteer. I am sure, Ann Marie, that he would be proud of you and your work at the clinic and on the UW faculty today as well.”

Hart directs the nursing school’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program. In 2010, she received the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Award for Excellence in Wyoming.

The Downtown Clinic provides comprehensive primary health care for low-income, uninsured residents of Albany County. Services include primary care, counseling, pharmacy, lab and diagnostic testing, and emergency dental.