Rebecca Vallance dress, $495, at Peacock Boutique.
Dr. Patricia Bautista-Cervera: Health Empowerment Coordinator, La Casita Center
Written by Dawn Anderson, Rocko Jerome and Taylor Riley | Photographed on location at the Frazier History Museum by Kylene White | Styled by Christine Fellingham and Melissa Gagliardi | Hair and makeup by Sarah Allen, Kassandra Cazares Aldana, Kayla Greenwell, Breanna Peters and Michaela Reeves
The field narrowed from over 400 nominations to 89 nominees and finally to the 16 award winners you will meet on the following pages. Representing each of their categories with distinction, your 2023 Most Admired Women bring humility, grace and a great capacity for change to their roles as leaders in our community. We asked each of them to reflect on how they got to this moment, what your votes and this award means to them and where their journeys might take them from here.
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Affectionately known as “Doctora Paty,” Dr. Patricia Bautista-Cervera is the Health Empowerment Coordinator at La Casita Center (LCC) (lacasitacenter.org), a grassroots non-profit supporting the Latinx community in Louisville. She says winning the Health & Wellness category is a recognition of teamwork: “I couldn’t have done it without the staff members at La Casita Center. And I feel privileged to have had the training as a pediatric allergist.”
Her medical training and Master’s Degree in Public Health with a concentration in Health Promotion equipped Dr. Paty to handle helping her community through the extended global health emergency. “As the pandemic was coming in early 2020, I was full of anxiety due to our open-door policy at La Casita Center, not to mention the way we traditionally greet each other cheek-to-cheek,” she says. The center was a daily gathering place with a constant flow of people socializing, finding support, and taking advantage of available resources. Many in the community were essential workers. Very early on, Dr. Paty and LCC’s Executive Director created and uploaded a hand-washing technique video to social media channels. Once the emergency was declared, the center pivoted to food and medicine delivery for those in need.
“My proudest achievement is being able to use what I’ve learned for the benefit of others, to share what I can see – because the eyes can’t see what the brain doesn’t know.”
“My proudest achievement is being able to use what I’ve learned for the benefit of others, to share what I can see– because the eyes can’t see what the brain doesn’t know,” says Dr. Paty. “I am able to identify priorities, using science-based research to simplify information and empower patients to understand and take charge of their own health.” Recent challenges include “overcoming the lack of trust from people who have been through traumatic events, conveying what is available and making it accessible, finding previously unavailable resources, and advocating for easier access for the community.”
Dr. Paty has experienced success at multiple stages in her career and personal life and lists some of her greatest personal accomplishments as “finishing medical school and working in pediatrics, being a mother and helping my children be their best, helping others in crisis, and just being alive each day!” She defines success as “being content with what you are doing and having a positive impact on yourself and others around you.”
Dr. Paty considers her husband and kids as allies on her journey. “My husband works as an oncologist and contributes to La Casita Center, so the community gets a two-for-one deal with us!” She is also thankful for the support of her family in Mexico, especially her mother, physicians who allowed her to shadow them, pioneers in their field or sport, and “anyone who goes above and beyond for someone else’s benefit or the common good.”
Now that the Covid national and global health emergencies have officially ended, Dr. Paty will continue to advocate for immunizations. “Kentucky is still way behind in Immunization rates for kids,” she says. Dr. Paty will also continue her work for women and people of color. “Advocating for better opportunities and health access will benefit everybody,” she says. “At La Casita Center, we found a silver lining with the pandemic. We all overcome by working in partnership, not working in silos. Partners like Today’s Woman magazine are a great example!” — Dawn Anderson
