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The Scribner Courage in Health Care Award Program


ABRAHAM BERGMAN, MD

2008 SCRIBNER COURAGE IN HEALTH CARE AWARDEE
COMMUNITY CELEBRATION - SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

Dr. Abraham Bergman

Dr. Abraham Bergman has been selected as the 2008 Awardee for his enormous contributions to the health and welfare of American children, especially to children in the Northwest. His career stands as a model for child advocacy. The Award will be presented at a community celebration on the evening of September 24, 2008 (see below for details and reservation information).

The Award

The Scribner Courage in Health Care Award is bestowed by First Choice Health and the Washington Academy of Family Physicians to health care professionals who have made an extraordinary contribution to the health of people in the Northwest through the exhibition of personal courage. Emphasis is given to extraordinary service, innovation and professional courage over time that has resulted in meaningful change and improvement in health care. Any living health care professional doing his or her work primarily in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, or Montana is eligible for the award.

Background

Dr. Scribner

Many physicians throughout the Northwest recognize the name of Dr. Belding Scribner, the kidney dialysis pioneer. "Scrib" was a medical professor at the University of Washington who developed the "Scribner Shunt" in the 1960s that changed terminal kidney failure into a survivable condition and has since saved hundreds of thousands of lives the world over. Scrib was honored in 2002 with the Lasker Award -- the American equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Still, he was a humble, entirely humane physician whose chief concern was always for his patients.

Also a pioneer in bioethics, Scrib believed that research should be conducted for the public good and that dialysis should be a community resource rather than a commodity. He was one of those innovative medical scientists who dared to move beyond the bounds of current knowledge, and in doing so became an inspiration to us all.

Several of us decided several years ago to make an example of Scrib by creating the Scribner Courage in Health Care Awards program. A partnership between First Choice Health and the Washington Academy of Family Physicians (WAFP), the Scribner Awards program was created as a benefit for the Northwest Kidney Centers to recognize and inspire courage and innovation in health care.

Past Awardees

Dr. Thompson

The first Scribner Award was presented in 2004 to Dr. Alvin Thompson, UW Clinical Professor of Medicine and Past President of the Washington State Medical Association. Dr. Thompson received the award for the courage he has demonstrated while enhancing health care for underserved communities in our state. His community service and professional advocacy have provided inspiration and mentorship to the medical community and aspiring health care professionals.

Dr. Wood

The second Scribner Award honoree, named in the Fall of 2006, was Dr. Robert Wood for his long-term commitment to identifying, advocating and advancing the care for people with HIV/AIDS. Dr. Wood was an early and articulate advocate for the recognition of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and, astonishing as it seems now, received death threats when he first brought the AIDS epidemic to light in our community.

Today, he serves as Director of the HIV/AIDS Program for Public Health – Seattle & King County and is an Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Presentation of the Award

The Scribner Courage in Health Care Award will be presented at a community event to be held on September 24, 2008. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Nassim Assefi,a renowned author and international physician leader, speaking on "Courage in Adversity: Responding to the Public Health Impact of War – Stories from Afghanistan and the Middle East".

Dr. Nassim Assefi, a 2nd generation Iranian-American, is an internist specializing in women’s health and global medicine. Most recently, she has been an academic in Seattle, a humanitarian aid worker and salsa dance teacher in Kabul, and an aspiring musician in Havana. She has traveled to more than 40 countries, and is based in Seattle when she is not abroad. She is a graduate of Wellesley College, University of Washington Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s residency program. She is the author of numerous scientific publications; Aria is her first novel. She is currently writing a second novel set in post-conflict Afghanistan entitled "Say I Am You". She lives in Istanbul with her husband Miguel.

Proceeds of this event will benefit the Northwest Kidney Centers, which Dr. Scribner helped found in 1962. The award event will take place at the 'Harborside on Lake Union' in Seattle.

Invitations will be mailed in the Summer of 2008. To be placed on the invitation list, please contact Marcie Wirtz at (206) 292-2771 Ext. 1107 or wirtzm@nwkidney.org.

 
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