The Alliance of Community Health Plans announced Oct. 7 recipients of the inaugural Bernard J. Tyson Health Equity Award, which honors the late chairman and CEO of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.
The alliance created the award to recognize healthcare leaders for their work related to health equity and community service.
"Bernard Tyson was a visionary leader who tirelessly advocated for health equity and high-quality, affordable coverage and care," ACHP President and CEO Ceci Connolly said in a news release. "We created this award to honor his legacy and to celebrate the remarkable impact he continues to have across the globe. I am proud to recognize two outstanding individuals who exemplify the same passion and characteristics that Bernard instilled across the world."
The alliance said the winners — Rhonda Medows, MD, president and CEO of Ayin Health Solutions and president of population health at Providence in Washington state; and Jeanette Rupert, BSN, RN, an intensive care unit nurse at HealthPartners and Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital and 612 M*A*S*H in Minneapolis — were picked based on "their commitment to health equity and community well-being."
Dr. Medows plays a key role in Renton, Wash.-based Providence's commitment to address health disparities and build partnerships with communities to achieve health equity across the 52-hospital organization.
Ms. Rupert works for a Minneapolis medical tent known as 612 M*A*S*H, which is becoming a brick-and-mortar nonprofit clinic. The association said she also works with nursing students on a community needs assessment project.