NEHI to Honor Four "Innovators in Health" for Pioneering Reforms in Health Care

October 15, 2009

BOSTON, MA (October 15, 2009) – The New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI) will present awards today to four “Innovators in Health” whose groundbreaking work represents the kinds of innovations needed to make national health reform a reality.

The four honorees, Dr. Christina Economos, Dr. Atul Gawande, Dr. Eric S. Lander and Dr. Barry Zuckerman, will receive their awards at 4:00 pm this afternoon at the Millennium Bostonian Hotel. The annual awards celebrate the achievement of leaders who exemplify the spirit of innovation and collaboration and who have advanced the understanding, connectivity or delivery of health care.

“The out-of-the-box thinking of these pathfinders has shaken up business as usual,’’ said NEHI chairman Joshua Boger, PhD. “They are proof of the power of innovation to solve problems in health care.’’

The honorees are being recognized for their work in the following fields:

• Dr. Christina Economos, PhD, is an Associate Professor at Tufts University.  Her work as the principal investigator of the groundbreaking study “Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart. Play Hard.” is now a national model in the reduction of childhood obesity.
 
• Dr. Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, is the Research Director for the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Surgery and Public Health and a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.  Dr. Gawande proved just how powerful words can be in the matter of health reform with his influential writings in The New Yorker.

• Dr. Eric S. Lander, PhD, was a principal leader of the international Human Genome Project.  In 2003, Dr. Lander helped found the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a unique collaborative research organization that spans Harvard University, MIT and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals.

• Dr. Barry Zuckerman, MD, the Chief of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, has proven that to truly make an impact in a patient’s life, you must see beyond a textbook diagnosis to the full picture of how the patient lives – and how they learn.  Dr. Zuckerman has done just that through three groundbreaking programs: Reach Out & Read, the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children and Project HEALTH.

“NEHI is committed to promoting innovation in health care,” said NEHI President Wendy Everett, ScD.  “The Innovators in Health Awards celebrate the success of each honoree in addressing some of health care’s most pressing problems.”

Following the awards presentation, the honorees will participate in a forum on how their innovative work has paved the way to health reform, moderated by Lynn Nicholas, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association.

Last year’s Innovators in Health awards went to thirteen individuals for their extraordinary efforts in achieving health reform legislation in Massachusetts. For more information about NEHI and the Innovators in Health awards, please visit: http://www.nehi.net/events/28/innovators_in_health_awards_forum_and_reception