PORTLAND, December 8, 2003–When the new Shepherd’s Door facility opened in Mother’s Day 2003, it was considered a gift of beauty and function for its residents and the community.

Shepherd’s Door is Portland Rescue Mission’s shelter for homeless women and children. Last May, it opened the doors to its new state-of-the-art home in NE Halsey, a facility designed to provide a comfortable, functional, and beautiful environment for Shepherd’s Door residents.

“We believe that a positive-looking environment contributes greatly to our goal in helping women and children. We’d like them to feel good about being here and consequently start to feel good about themselves,” says Mike Maksimowicz, executive director of the Portland Rescue Mission.

Combining his passion for healing and art, Dr. Merrit Quarum, founder, CEO and President of Portland-based Qmedtrix Systems, is donating works of art to Shepherd’s Door.

Qmedtrix is one of the nation's leading decision software firms specializing in health care cost-containment solutions. Its offices in Portland, Ore., California and Texas, feature evocative and dynamic pieces that represent the spirit of innovation at Qmedtrix.

For Shepherd’s Door’s walls, Dr. Quarum is enlisting the artwork of renowned American artists whose work revolves around the experiences and passions of children: Mary Linn Benning, Bob Byerley, and Alexandra Nechita.

“Art can have an incredible positive effect. The message of hope that this art conveys is integral to the healing and learning that goes on at the shelter,” said Dr. Quarum, an art connoisseur who also is a long-time patron of the Portland Art Museum and supporter of Shepherd’s Door.

Here are the artists whose works have been selected for Dr. Quarum for the Shepherd’s Door installation:

• Mary Linn Benning, famous for her mixed media paintings and sculptures of animals, uses various techniques in depicting her favorite subjects. She has traveled the world–from Tanzania, Africa to Manitoba, Canada–to view wild animals in their natural habitat for her wildlife portraits.
• Bob Byerley, known as the “Painter of our American Childhood,” is hailed as the modern-day Norman Rockwell. His paintings depict children “being children” in a “kinder, gentler age.” He paints children in classical ultra-realistic style that masterfully incorporates shadow and light to create works that could be mistaken for photographs.
• Abstract-cubist artist Alexandra Nechita was a child when she debuted in the art world in 1994, at age 9. Dubbed by critics as the “Petite Picasso,” Nechita made headlines and was compared to masters Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Nechita, who graduated from Lutheran High School in Orange County last May, earned an honor few graduates can claim: becoming the namesake for her alma mater’s new performing arts center.

“We very much appreciate Dr. Quarum’s contribution of artwork that represents the organization well. We believe that art adds to the overall holistic healing of women and children on top of all our other programs and ministry. Art can have tremendous therapy purposes for our clients who have gone through some very difficult, traumatic experiences in their lives. We want to build new memories and we can do that with the beautiful artwork,” Maksimowicz said.

About Qmedtrix
Qmedtrix is one of the nation's leading decision software firms specializing in health care cost containment solutions. Qmedtrix offers a complete spectrum of technology and systems services and solutions to support the efforts of their clients. This includes bill review and case management software, bill review services and litigation support services.
The company’s algorithm-based rules engines and proprietary database are considered industry standards.

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