(MANCHESTER) On Wednesday, April 24, immediately following the annual White Mass, the NH Guild of Catholic Healthcare Professionals will honor Deacon Dr. James Wilton with the 2019 St. Martin de Porres Award, given annually to a Catholic healthcare professional who exemplifies the virtues of Catholic healthcare.

Deacon Dr. Wilton serves patients at Valley Regional Hospital as a foot, ankle and peripheral nerve surgeon, and serves parishioners at St. Mary Church in Claremont, NH as their deacon. Throughout his career, Dr. Wilton has been an advocate for the poor by serving on committees that worked to make healthcare available and affordable for patients who had little or no insurance coverage. He provides exceptional care to each person he encounters, regardless of socioeconomic challenges of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, debilitating health behaviors, and violence.

In 2002, Dr. Wilton volunteered to join a medical mission team sponsored by Project Perfect World, an organization that provides for children’s health care needs in underserved areas around the world. While on his trip to Guayaquil, Ecuador, Dr. Wilton met Sister Annie Credidio, founder of the Damien House, a residential hospital that provides around-the-clock care for over 30 in-house residents and free medical care for more than 700 outpatients affected by Hansen's Disease (leprosy).

Upon returning to the United States from Ecuador, Dr. Wilton formed a mission team to return to Guayaquil and provide free medical and surgical care to the residents of the Damien House and those in need in the surrounding communities. The primary focus of these medical missions was to preform peripheral nerve surgery to reverse paralysis, restore function, and eliminate pain in the arms, hands, legs, and feet. 17 years and 16 trips later the “Annie’s Angels” surgical teams led by Dr. Wilton have helped hundreds of patients emerge from physical, emotional and spiritual suffering.

Deacon Dr. James Wilton and his wife, Roxanne Raeside Wilton, relocated to Claremont in July of 2018, where Roxanne is the headmaster for the newly opened John Paul II Academy. They are the parents of five adult children, eight foster children and currently are foster parents for their great-niece Grace (22 months) and great-nephew Benjamin (4 ½ years). They enjoy serving their parish and working in evangelization and adult formation.

For more information about the NH Guild of Catholic Healthcare Professionals, or about the White Mass, please visit: www.nhcatholichealth.org.  Also, see our photo album for more photos from the ceremonies.