News
AMA Foundation Honors Dr. Zaven Ayanian For Volunteerism
By John Burton
RED BANK - Dr. Zaven Ayanian, a physician volunteer at the Parker Family Health Center, is a recipient of the 2010 Jack B. McConnell, MD, Award for Excellence in Volunteerism.
Presented by the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation in association with Pfizer Inc., the award is part of the Excellence in Medicine Awards program and is presented to senior physicians who increase access to health care for underserved and uninsured patients in the United States.
Dr. Ayanian will be recognized on Monday, March 1, 2010, at the Excellence in Medicine Awards Ceremony in conjunction with the AMA National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. The award recipients are honored for their altruism, compassion, leadership and integrity.
Ayanian, who retired from his medical practice in 1998, has volunteered at the Parker Family Health Center every other Wednesday for almost 10 years, seeing about 2,500 patients during that time. He has also been an active participant in the clinic's program for third year medical students from UMDNJ, the state's university of health sciences.
"Volunteers make Parker possible," said Dr. Eugene Cheslock, clinic founder and president. "But Dr. Ayanian stands out in this highly skilled, dedicated group by his commitment to serving our patients and by his engagement with medical care at its best."
Founded in 2000, the Parker Family Health Center provides free primary health care to low-income, uninsured Monmouth County residents. The clinic logged over 10,000 patient visits in 2009, with over 70,000 cumulative patient visits since the founding. Thirty-seven percent of patients are from Red Bank, with the rest from all parts of Monmouth County. Health care is provided by a network of 200 medical volunteers who donate 10,000 hours of service annually at the clinic.
"Dr. Ayanian is not only a compassionate physician, he is also a teacher, mentor and leader," said AMA Foundation President Richard Hovland. "He has had an enduring presence at the Parker Family Health Center since its founding in 2000, and due to his long-standing volunteerism, the clinic is a strong, sustainable organization, serving the working poor in the community."
The AMA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt foundation, is the philanthropic arm of the American Medical Association and is committed to improving the health of Americans through support of quality programs in public health and medical education. Some of the AMA Foundation's current programs include grant programs for free clinics and healthy lifestyles projects, medical student scholarships and health literacy initiatives. Visit www.amafoundation.org to learn more.
