Some women don”™t stop when the going gets tough. They may pull some shards from their hair if they are trying to “gate-crash” the glass ceiling, but it”™s all part of paving the way for others. Attorney Marcia Jacobowitz is one of those women.
There were already two health care centers in Orange County, but for many of the people who lived in Jacobowitz”™s “neighborhood” ”“ the area surrounding Montgomery, Walden and the hamlet of Wallkill ”“ didn”™t have a way to get to them.
“Five or six concerned women approached me and asked me if there was anything that could be done to get a health care center in this part of the county,” she said. “You can get things done ”“ as long as you are willing to stick with it.”
She continued, “We sat down and talked it out and then formed a 501 (c)(3) and started the process of putting together the concept for a health center. I spent a lot of time going back and forth to Albany: working with the New York state Department of Health to give us a certificate of need, looking for a good location to open a center people could get to and actually getting it opened and working. (It) probably seemed impossible ”“ but impossible things can become very possible if you put your heart and soul into it.”
Today, the Wallkill Valley Health Care Center on Orange Avenue in Walden, housed in the former Highland Telephone Co. building, offers medical and dental services to area residents.
“It”™s a well-kept secret because we”™re not that big, but we provide a vital service. The health care center the community needed became a reality because a few women really cared and stayed committed.”
Six years later, Wallkill Valley Health Center merged with Hudson River HealthCare.
“Anne Nolon (executive director of HRHC) has been a great friend to the health care community and to us,” said Jacobowitz, who has served as president of WVHC”™s board of directors since the doors opened and as vice chair of HRHC since the merger in 1998.
Jacobowitz is staying hands-on when it comes to health care, and that includes clean drinking water. Appointed to the Orange County Water Authority in 1994, she”™s served as chairwoman since 1996. “Eventually, we”™d like to see small water loops connected from municipality to municipality. It would allow people to have an adequate supply of clean water and would be less expensive. We take a lot for granted ”“Â clean water is one of them.”
Jacobowitz is also an animal lover, which explains the pictures on her desk; beside her husband, Brian Paz, and her twin daughters, photos of her four-legged family members are on display, including two horses she”™s grown to love.
“Horses are also truly unique in the way they connect with people, especially those with disabilities.”
At Winslow Therapeutic in Warwick, where Jacobowitz sits on its board of directors, and throughout the Hudson Valley, the physically and mentally challenged are able to develop a special rapport with horses. “Horses help bring out the best in people, and it”™s a pleasure to work with organizations that use them in their therapy programs.”
Jacobowitz works to get grant money for the organizations she devotes her spare time to, “but the economy has impacted everyone. Grants have become much scarcer, and some have dried up totally. There are so many worthwhile causes that need support.”
She joined the firm her father, Gerald, founded in Walden with his partner, David Gubits.
“My parents and grandparents really instilled a sense of giving in me,” she said.
“All the employees pitch in to do whatever they can. Most Fridays are dress-down days at Jacobowitz & Gubits. That means you”™ll even get to see lawyers wearing jeans,” laughed Jacobowitz, “and believe me, we all enjoy it.”
Among the many fundraising efforts the firm has sponsored, the American Heart Association, the Hudson Valley SPCA and the Rural Development Advisory Corp. have benefited from the company”™s group effort.
“People still give what they can give. It may be at a lower level, but they are still reaching into their pockets. I”™m a huge advocate of shared services, whether it is for a nonprofit or a municipality,” said Jacobowitz. “Even though times are tough for so many, people haven”™t turned their backs on those in need. I”™m grateful for my skills as an attorney, which have helped me get so many get things done… but it”™s always a team effort ”“Â it”™s never just one person. The American people don”™t give themselves enough credit. They are still out there doing whatever they can to help their neighbors. Everybody counts.”
