September 12, 2018 - In honor of his father Leo Center (pictured), Savannah businessman Scott Center has made a donation of $7,000 to the St. Joseph's/Candler Foundations to support a nurse practitioner at the Good Samaritan Clinic, according to hospital officials. 

"My father was a powerful source of good for this community," Scott Center, President of National Office Systems, said. "Though a true captain of local industry, political leader and sports hero; helping those who were not as fortunate in life was the driving force in everything he did.  With that in mind, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, I am donating $7,000 to the Nurse Practitioner Program at the Good Samaritan Clinic.  This program, run by Sr. Pat Baber, aligns perfectly with everything my dad believed in.  And Sr. Pat is the type of person that my dad would consider a hero, as do I."

The St. Joseph's/Candler Good Samaritan Clinic opened in 2007 to serve the growing number of people without health insurance. It provides a medical home for those who are uninsured but don't qualify for Medicaid and treats common maladies to chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease.

 It offers free cancer screenings through SJ/C's Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion and works with specialists to give patients the continuum of care.

The gift is important because the care at Good Samaritan is driven by nurse practitioners, according to hospital officials.  Last year Good Samaritan had 3,277 patient visits.

 About Leo Center

Leo Center died six years ago, and would have turned 100 on Sept. 11.  He started his adult life as a championship boxer in the 1930s, for which we was inducted into the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame, then started and grew the Center Brothers company, served 20 years on the Savannah City Council and was a leader in Savannah's Jewish community.

"He always had a strong sense of right and wrong and used his reputation as a boxer to protect those least able to protect themselves," Scott Center said. "Pity the bully who would pick on a victim at Johnny Harris’s on a Saturday night, particularly if the victim was Jewish.

"He started a business and grew it from scratch to a multi-state successful corporation during his lifetime. As the CEO, he would work long hours without complaint. He handled everything life handed him in a straightforward, forthright manner. We all struggle with making the right decisions and doing the right thing. For Leo, it appeared effortless to follow the correct path," Scott Center said.