Dr. Simon Lee receives the CHEF Community Leadership Award

On Feb. 11, 2014, the Chicago Health Executives Forum (CHEF) presented Glenview resident Dr. Simon Lee of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush with the Community Leadership Award for his work with "Soles4Souls".

Award recipients have worked to bridge the gap in the fragmentation of health care and delivery of services and have promoted education as a measure to strengthen communities.

In 2007, Dr. Lee's leadership helped establish the Chicago-area chapter of Soles4Souls, a Nashville-based charity founded by a fellow foot and ankle specialist, that collects donated shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies to distribute to people in need. Every year since 2007, Dr. Lee has organized Chicago's annual year-end event called "Our Hearts to Your Soles", providing medical foot screenings for Chicago-area homeless men and women at the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph on Chicago's west side.

Employees from Midwest Orthopedics at Rush, as well as orthopedic surgery residents and medical students from Rush University, work under the supervision of Dr. Lee and his colleagues to examine and treat the feet of the overnight clients. This program provides homeless Chicagoans with relief for cold, wet, uncomfortable feet as well as a new pair of shoes and socks. It also educates the medical students and residents about the issues faced by the homeless and how they as medical professionals can help. "There is so much need right here in Chicago — and so close to where we work," he explains.