She has been at the forefront of providing health care for the underserved in Bucks County for the past 50 years. During her tenure at the Ann Silverman clinic, she led the expansion of its programs and facilities to fulfill its mission of providing free medical, dental and behavior health services to low-income and uninsured families in the community.
As executive director since 2016, Fabian-Oresic met every public health challenge and opportunity with passion and energy. As other community health clinics in Bucks County closed, she expanded the programs and services at the Ann Silverman Clinic, which is the only remaining free clinic in Bucks County.
Under her leadership, Fabian-Oresic secured the clinics future with successful fundraising initiatives to support its programmatic growth and construction of larger facilities to accommodate the new services.
Sallys retirement will mark the last chapter of a remarkable public health career, said Paul Edgerton, Board chair of the Ann Silverman Health Clinic. She has led the clinic with a clear focus on improving the health of our patients and approached her work with compassion and a collaborative spirit. We are very grateful that shes put the clinic on a great path to ensure our important work continues.
The impact of Fabian-Oresics legacy is immediate and will be enduring. The comprehensive medical care that she built is provided by first-rate clinicians and a robust network of volunteer physicians from internists to specialists, including orthopedics and ophthalmology. She led the expansion of the dental clinic to include both preventative and restorative care.
She established for the first time a behavioral health program, with both English and Spanish-speaking counselors, as there is significantly limited access to mental health services for the uninsured.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fabian-Oresic faced the most challenging time in her career as the clinics patients were disproportionately at risk for infection and hard hit by job losses, closed schools, and food insecurity. She quickly mobilized the clinic to pivot to telehealth visits and organized vaccination clinics that protected nearly 900 people, with the assistance of Doylestown Health.
Despite the urgent medical needs, Fabian-Oresic made it a priority to address food insecurity patients faced by securing more than $90,000 in grocery gift cards.
I am enormously grateful for the opportunities to live out my passion for public health these past 50 years, said Fabian-Oresic. Ive been fortunate to serve with some of the most dedicated caregivers and leaders in health care, and although I will retire this summer, my commitment to community health will never waver. I will always support efforts to make the world a better place for all. I am, however, very excited to be able to spend more time with my family and granddaughter.
Prior to joining the Ann Silverman Health Clinic, Fabian-Oresic served 16 years as the executive director of the Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership (BCHIP), a nonprofit collaborative partnership initiative of the County of Bucks, the hospitals located in Bucks County, and the Bucks County Medical Society. Sally was selected as its first executive director. While there, she directed two free clinics, developed tobacco education and cessation programs, initiated an advanced care planning program with five hospitals, and helped create the Domestic Violence Awareness Task Force and the Bucks County Child Advocacy Center.
For the first 27 years of her career, Fabian-Oresic worked at the Bucks County Department of Health where she started as a staff nurse and advanced to become director of Personal Health and Nursing Services for her last 10 years. As director, she managed a 70+ nursing, nutrition, and support staff; vaccination clinics; TB, HIV/AIDS and well child services; the Women, Infant and Childrens Supplemental Food Program (WIC); and investigated communicable disease cases and outbreaks.
Her awards include Family Builder of the Year Awardee from the Family Association of Bucks County and Woman Who Make a Difference Honoree from the Bucks County March of Dimes. She served as Secretary and Vice Chair of the Free Clinic Association of Pennsylvania, and as an officer of the Pennsylvania Public Health Association.
Fabian-Oresic was born and raised in Doylestown, and received her bachelors in Nursing from Keuka College, NY, and her masters in Nursing Administration and Community Health from Villanova University. She is an avid skier, swimmer and enjoys hiking and relaxing on the New Jersey shore.
About the Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic
The Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free medical, dental, and behavioral health care and social services to low-income, uninsured families in Bucks County. The clinic is made possible by volunteer physicians, dentists, nurses, and support staff; Doylestown Health, which contributes facilities, and other support services; and generous donations from the community Visit us at www.aschealthclinic.org and follow us on facebook.com/ann-silverman-community-health-clinic and instagram.com/annsilvermanclinic.
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