2009 Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service

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Request for Nominations

The Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service is presented annually to a U.S. member institution or organization with a long-standing, major institutional commitment to addressing community needs. This commitment should be demonstrated through the development of exceptional programs that go well beyond the traditional service role of academic medicine and reach communities whose needs are not being met by the health system. The award highlights community service as an important element of the academic mission, and singles out institutions that can serve as examples of social responsiveness on the part of the academic medical community.

The award recipient must have a broad-based, continuing commitment to community service as reflected in a variety of programs and initiatives which are responsive to community and social needs and which show evidence of a true partnership with the community. The award is not intended to honor any one specialized service program or individual, but rather to recognize instances where a broad-based collaboration has developed between the nominee and the community served.

The award selection committee is especially interested in programs that are directly linked to the institution's research endeavor and to the education of medical students and residents. The committee will judge each nominee on the basis of whether it is meeting its own potential to make a positive impact on the community it serves.

Examples of the types of programs appropriate for consideration include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Innovative programs of patient care/service to disadvantaged communities
• Programs of education targeted at increasing the participation of traditionally underrepresented groups in the health professions
• Leadership focusing medical center and community resources to respond to health needs such as prevention and health education, patient care, and social and supportive services
• Programs aimed at providing students with educational experiences in underserved areas to encourage eventual practice in such communities
• Programs developed to meet the needs of isolated communities
• Programs that use the unique assets and resources of the medical center to address continuing educational, economic, and/or systemic community problems
• Programs that address social needs in a medical context

An original and eight copies of the nomination package should contain the following:

• A cover letter signed by the medical school dean, hospital CEO, or academic society president making the nomination
• A narrative description (not to exceed six pages) of the nominee's community programs, including: history of the institution's commitment and programs; descriptions of the programs and their impact on the institution and the community; the participation of faculty and students; and a description of how the activities are funded
• One or two letters, preferably from community leaders, but definitely from outside the institution, describing the programs and their impact on the community and/or
• A modest selection of news clips from the public press
• No video tapes, please

Please note that the total nomination package should not exceed 15 pages.

Nominations must be received by May 1, 2009. An original and eight copies of the entire nomination package should be sent to:

Office of the President
Association of American Medical Colleges
2450 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037-1127

202-828-0472

Three finalists will be selected for site visits during the summer. The award, a commemorative crystal piece honoring the institution's extraordinary social commitment, will be presented at the 2009 AAMC annual meeting. All finalists will be recognized at the annual Awards Dinner.

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