profession
AMA honors 5 doctors for charity care in U.S. and abroad
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 4, 2013
The American Medical Association is recognizing five physicians with Excellence in Medicine awards for delivering care to patients in low-income areas in the U.S. and developing countries.
The Pride in the Profession Award is going to Mary Brennan Wirshup, MD, who coordinates about 150 volunteer health professionals at a nonprofit West Chester, Pa., organization that provides medical and dental care to poor, uninsured patients.
The Jack B. McConnell, MD, Award for Excellence in Volunteerism will go to Matthew B. Mandel, MD, who recruited 73 health professionals to provide care to nearly 2,000 patients at a Great Barrington, Mass., free clinic he started in the late 1990s.
Three physicians will get the Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine.
One of them is Mark L. Jacobson, MD, MPH, who helped build a hospital on the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania, that provides care to marginalized and disabled people. Another Dr. Davis award recipient is Rebecca Morsch, MD, MPH, who directs a Papua New Guinea program that spreads critical health messages on childbirth, child care, hygiene, waste management and sexually transmitted diseases. Lastly, V.K. Raju, MD, will get a Dr. Davis award for starting a charitable organization that has provided eye care to prevent blindness in 21 developing countries for more than 30 years.
The awards were scheduled to be handed out Feb. 4 at a dinner ceremony during the AMA National Advocacy Conference in Washington.
