2008 Alumni Career Achievement Award
Janet Gildea, SC, M.D. opted to take a different path than most of her colleagues after medical school. Considered a trailblazer, Sister Janet left the comforts of the Midwest to practice medicine and serve the poor in the Southwest. Today she is a family practice physician and co-founder of La Clinica Guadulapana in El Paso, Texas.
Medicine was attractive to Janet as a profession dedicated to the service of others. She majored in biology at the Mount and went on to obtain her medical degree at Indiana University School of Medicine. After her graduation in 1982 Janet answered another call and joined the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati.
Ready to take on a new challenge, Sister Janet traveled west to serve with other Sisters at Villa Therese Clinic in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Drawn by the unmet need for health care in border communities, the Sisters moved to El Paso in 1991. Sister Janet’s vision and enthusiasm drew others to work collaboratively in establishing La Clinica Guadulapana which serves isolated desert communities. The ministry has expanded to provide assistance for children with special needs in Anapra, Mexico, through the Santo Nino Project.
Sister Janet was recently honored for her work and dedication to the poor with the 2008 Father Tom O’Connor Light of Christ Award by the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.
Today the College of Mount St. Joseph honors Sister Janet Gildea, class of 1978, with the Alumni Career Achievement Award for her accomplishments as a physician and dedication to improving access to health care for all.