Working in an industry that makes people look beautiful and, more importantly, feel beautiful can be a very fulfilling job. What happens, though, when you feel that pang of guilt, wondering whether you are actually making the world a better place?

Most of us think that volunteering in soup kitchens and traveling to Kenya to care for children in need are opportunities that few of us can afford to take. However, President of the country’s leading independent specialty pharmaceutical company, Mark Prygocki, would beg to differ.

“What we wanted to do was be able to fund doctors’ and physician assistants’ passions, to help them get out of the bureaucracy that they are in day-to-day,” says the Medicis president.

Prygocki’s work site is a model student to philanthropy. When you are a Medicis employee, you are granted with up to 5 days, or 45 hours of paid time off per calendar year to volunteer to a designated 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Medicis Volunteer Program encourages em-ployees to find something they are passionate about – and actually execute involvement.

Such benefits are unheard of in most companies; especially in the aesthetic industry. It’s this extra mile that has earned Medicis a place on the list of Most Ethical Companies, named by the Ethisphere Institute, for two years in a row.

An Interview with Medicis By: Stacey Clarke

STACEY CLARKE Staff WriterOffice of Steven H. Dayan, MD, FACS

312.335.1700 stacey@drdayan.com

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The only pharmaceutical company to ever make this list, Prygocki consid-ers this quite an honor. However, one particular initiative in 2011 gave them a boost among their peers. Medicis had a vision to find a way to increase access to specialized healthcare in under served communities in the US and abroad. Their vision came to fruition in August of 2011; they called it Passion to Heal.

Passion to Heal connects physicians through third party organizations. Medicis provides financial support to these select-ed charitable organizations which, in turn, underwrite the cost associated with plas-tic surgeons, dermatologists, facial plastic surgeons, residents, practice managers and other healthcare professionals.

The impetus for this project was to find a way to satisfy physicians’ basic need to heal people. As any practice manager knows, there are so many little tedious tasks that bog down the physician on a day to day basis.

“We’re helping the doctors get back to the basics of treating people; that’s what they enjoy,” says Prygocki.

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A sought after specialist such as a facial plastic surgeon is incredibly valuable to thousands of children with facial deformities. People will line up for hours to see these physicians. Just as the patients are eager to be treated, physicians and their staff are equally eager to help.

In its current state, Passion to Heal has acquired a wait list. As the program is still in its infancy, the desire to help has surpassed the original avenues to do so. In an effort to never turn volunteers away, Medicis is actively looking to add more third party organizations.

“I don’t want it to be perceived that we have too many volunteers. There are millions and millions of people we can help serve with these specialties. We’ll do our best to put the two together,” says Prygocki.

As for Prygocki, he sits back astounded by the involvement of his employees in Passion to Heal and other philanthropic efforts. Some spend time on food drives while others devote their attention to the troops overseas. One military veteran put together her own volunteer effort, asking the staff to bring in baskets of gift for the troops.

A particular philanthropic operation close to Prygocki’s heart involves goats, horses and a summer getaway for children normally restricted to their hospital beds. The Whispering Hope Ranch helps kids with various diseases to have a camping experience, interacting with animals that don’t care what they look like or feel like.

For Mark, one visit to Whispering Hope is all it took to have him hooked.

“It’s the expression on their face that keeps me going. It doesn’t take a lot, but we have to do something,” says Prygocki.

If you have that same desire to “do something,” visit www.passiontoheal.com, www.whisperinghoperanch.org, or simply look up a local effort that sparks your passion.

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