KCUMB’s Health Policy Institute Bestows 2009 Distinguished Service Award

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 3, 2009) — Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences’ Health Policy Institute awarded the 2009 Distinguished Service Award to DOCARE International and to Heart to Heart International Nov. 2 during the American Osteopathic Association’s annual meeting in New Orleans.

Through its Distinguished Service Award, KCUMB’s Health Policy Institute annually recognizes individuals or organizations that have demonstrated exemplary leadership in the area of health policy.

“Both of these organizations strive to make a difference through the delivery of health care and medical supplies to those in need throughout the world,” said Barry Seward, president of the Health Policy Institute.

Founded in 1961, DOCARE International is a non-profit medical outreach organization that provides health care to indigent populations and those living in remote areas. DOCARE members and contributors participate in and financially support medical missions, as well as donate medical supplies and equipment. DOCARE has sponsored medical missions to northern Mexico, the central Yucatan, the Caribbean, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Based in Olathe, Kan., Heart to Heart International is a global humanitarian organization that works to improve health and to respond to the needs of disaster victims worldwide. The organization provides medical education, delivers medical aid to hospitals and clinics, responds to people in crisis and addresses community health concerns around the world.

Heart to Heart’s projects include sending teams to Cyprus and Jordan with water purification and medical aid supplies, providing support in Indonesia following a 6.2 magnitude earthquake, developing a mobile medical clinic in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and setting up medical relief efforts in Chengdu, China, following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

Previous recipients of the Distinguished Service Award include David Nabarro, a United Nations/World Health Organization public health leader (2008); Richard Carmona, M.D., former U.S. Surgeon General (2007); Jim and Virginia Stowers, founders of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research (2006); Bill Frist, M.D., U.S. Senate Majority Leader (2005); and Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, Missouri senator (2004).

KCUMB’s Health Policy Institute consists of leaders in medicine, health policy and government affairs that confront matters affecting medical care, medical education and life sciences research. The Institute arranges leadership forums featuring national health experts, offers health policy internships to fourth-year KCUMB medical students and provides issue advocacy for selected health policy positions.