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Maine governor among Davis Award winners
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 29, 2010
The American Medical Association in March honored nine public officials with its Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service. The awards, handed out annually, go to government officials who "go above and beyond the call of duty to improve public health," said AMA Board of Trustees Chair Rebecca J. Patchin, MD.
Maine Gov. John Baldacci was lauded for his efforts in creating Dirigo Health, a state-run health insurance subsidy program. U.S. Delegate Donna Christensen, MD, a Democrat who represents the Virgin Islands as a nonvoting member of Congress, was recognized for working to reduce health disparities in U.S. territories.
The other winners were: Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger; Florida State Sen. Don Gaetz; Iowa State Rep. Mark Smith; Vice Adm. John Mateczun, MD, commander of Joint Task Force, National Capital Region Medical; Ira Pastan, MD, chief of the molecular biology laboratory at the National Institute of Health's Center for Cancer Research; Washington State Dept. of Health Secretary Mary C. Selecky; and Bob Buster, vice chair of the Riverside County, Calif., Board of Supervisors.
This was the 21st year that the AMA has given the awards, named for Association founder Dr. Nathan Smith Davis.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/03/29/prbf0329.htm.