The City Commissioners on Wednesday approved a request from Capital Health Plan officials to name the walking trails at Cascades Park after Dr. Nancy Van Vessem.
The naming of the trails is to honor her many years of dedication as a physician and as the chief medical officer of Capital Health Plan and her commitment to supporting such public health initiatives as the opening of Cascades Park and specifically the development of its walking trails.
Dr. Van Vessem was tragically killed in the shooting at the Hot Yoga Studio in 2018.
In a written request by Thomas Glennon, Senior Vice President, Capital Health Plan, he noted that Dr. Van Vessem had devoted her life to promoting health and wellness with her patients and the community at large. She believed strongly in preventative medicine and worked diligently to make quality health care affordable for everyone in the Big Bend area.
Dr. Van Vessem was highly respected as a clinical leader during her two-plus decades with CHP. Her work included medical education, a role she embraced through her service on the faculty of the Florida State University College of Medicine and as a member of its Tallahassee campus Advisory Board at the time of her passing.
Capital Health Plan and the Florida State University College of Medicine established the Nancy Van Vessem, M.D. Memorial Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide scholarship support to medical students who are committed to becoming general internal medicine physicians — her specialty — or geriatricians practicing in outpatient settings in the Tallahassee area.
CHP plans to cover the cost associated with updating the signage related to the walking trails.
Cascades Walking Trails to be Named After Dr. Nancy Van Vessem added by Lynsey Kirk on
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Thank you Dr. van Vessem for a life well lived.
Was it a unanimous vote by the entire commission?
If not which commissioner (s) voted against the motion?
Finally something approved that is worth while out of these City Commissioners .She was a gem, she loved her patients, her staff, co workers and we loved her.