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PHYSICIANS FOR PEACE HONORS WILLIAM FRIST, M.D. WITH CHARLES E. HORTON HUMANITARIAN AWARD

RECOGNIZES WORK TO ALEVIATE GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS

 

Norfolk, Va. (10/9/2008) — Physicians for Peace, a Norfolk-based international non-profit organization focusing on medical education in the developing world, honored Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. with the  Charles E. Horton Humanitarian Award for Global Health during the organization’s Celebrate the Nations 2008 Gala on October 4 in Virginia Beach, VA. Sen. Frist, M.D. served as the keynote speaker for the event.

 

 “To receive an award bearing Dr. Horton’s name is a tremendous honor,” Frist said.  “Medicine can serve as a currency for peace throughout the world, bringing hope to those in despair and forging new alliances in even the most remote corners of the globe.  Physicians for Peace is a shining example of that principle, and I’m grateful for their tremendous work.” 

 

Frist’s work in the field of global health aligns with the Physicians for Peace mission to foster medical diplomacy. As Frist recently wrote in the Yale Law and Policy Review, “Health is a unique vehicle that crosses boundaries in times of war and distress, and in times of suffering and turmoil. Working to improve the health of our fellow man sends a message that speaks to our common humanity and serves as a vehicle for peacemakers.”

 

Frist, who devoted 20 years to practicing medicine as a cardiothoracic transplant surgeon before entering public service, represented the state of Tennessee in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007, and served as Senate Majority Leader during the final four years of his tenure. 

 

Since retiring from the Senate, Dr. Frist has worked with many charitable organizations, including Africare, Samaritan’s Purse, Save the Children and The ONE Campaign. At least once a year, he travels as a doctor to sub-Saharan Africa as part of World Medical Mission to do surgery and care for those stricken with disease. He is the Chair of the nonprofit Hope through Healing Hands, which promotes improved quality of life for communities around the world. The organization’s motto, “Using Medicine as a Currency for Peace,” echoes the mission of Physicians for Peace.

 

Speaking at the Physicians for Peace Gala, Sen. Frist expressed the core message of the evening. “Health and health care is the lifeblood of our future,” he noted.  “It touches every life—our grandparents, our parents, and our children.  It is intimate, and personal; it is built on trust; and it is fundamental to long-term economic growth – of a family or of a nation.”

The Charles E. Horton Humanitarian Award for Global Health is given in honor of the late Physicians for Peace founder, Charles E. Horton, MD.  Horton, an internationally recognized humanitarian, founded Physicians for Peace in 1989 and served as its leader until his death in late 2006. Through Horton’s leadership, the organization has touched the lives of tens of thousands of patients and medical professionals in more than 50 countries around the world. The award was given last year to Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, noted expert on global development and Director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute. 

 

“Sen. Frist’s commitment to addressing the developing world’s health crisis is the embodiment of Dr. Horton’s vision and passions,” noted Physicians for Peace President and CEO Brig. Gen. Ron Sconyers (USAF, Ret.). “His passion and compassion is an inspiration to the Physicians for Peace family, and indeed for humanitarians the world over.”  

 

ABOUT PHYSICIANS FOR PEACE

Physicians for Peace is an international private voluntary organization that mobilizes healthcare educators to assist developing nations with unmet medical needs and scarce resources. Through effective, hands-on medical education and training, clinical care and donated medical supplies, Physicians for Peace creates long-term, sustainable, replicable, and evidence-based projects to help partner nations build medical capability and capacity to help themselves. Volunteers for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization have conducted medical missions in more than 50 countries. More information is available at www.physiciansforpeace.org.

 

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