Saint Francis Foundation Honors Spirit Award Winners

Valerie Powell-Stafford, MHSA, FACHE, President, Hartford Market (L) with the 2025 Ambassador Spirit Award Winners -- Barbara Gordon, Sister Sally Hodgdon, and Dr. Bill Rabitaille.

The Spirit Award honors and recognizes outstanding members of the Saint Francis and Mount Sinai family who have shown their continuous dedication to health and healing through excellence and compassion. As the organization evolves with new services and technologies, talents and facilities, the Spirit Award honorees hold steadfast in their work to serve, exemplifying the organization’s Mission and Core Values. This year, there were three Spirit Award recipients.

• Barbara Gordon: A Hartford native, Barbara has been a long-time supporter of Saint Francis, deciding to start a fundraising event after receiving cancer treatment in 2008. For the last 18 years, Barbara has held a backyard barbeque as a fundraiser for the hospital, supporting various departments over the years. In June, the event raised almost $30,000 in support of the Karl J. Krapek Comprehensive Women’s Health Center at Saint Francis. To date, the party, held at Barbara’s home in West Hartford, has raised an impressive $330,000 – with every dollar going to support Saint Francis.
• Sister Sally Hodgdon: A former member of the Trinity Health Of New England Board of Directors who continues to serve on the Saint Francis Hospital Board, Sister Sally is a long-time supporter of the hospital. She served as Superior General for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery and was Vice President of the International Union of Superiors General. Sister Sally served as an Assistant Attorney General handling custody cases and later joined forces with two other sisters to open the Communities’ Law Center, believed to be the first law firm owned and operated by Roman Catholic nuns in Connecticut. The firm focused on family, juvenile and disability matters, providing services to the underserved in the community – a reflection of the Mission set by Mother Valencia and the sisters who founded Saint Francis.
• Bill Rabitaille, MD: Joining Saint Francis in 2017 as the director of the Gengras Clinic, Dr. Rabitaille serves as Regional Chief of Primary Care for Trinity Health Of New England Medical Group, Lead Physician for the three Safety Net Clinics at Saint Francis, and was recently named Chair of Medicine at Saint Francis. Under his leadership, 10 primary care offices have been recognized as Patient-Centered Medical Homes – a model of care that puts patients at the forefront and builds better relationships between patients and their clinical care teams. Outside of his clinical duties, Dr. Rabitaille serves as a dedicated teacher to residents and medical students, where he encourages and instills a passion of whole-person care to the next generation of providers.