Our Year: CollaborationInspiring Change
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President Bill Clinton, ASCP Keynote Speaker (left), received the 2011 ASCP Humanitarian Award for Global Health from 2010–2011 ASCP President John E. Tomaszewski, MD, FASCP.
Keynote speaker President William J. Clinton was honored with the first-ever 2011 ASCP Humanitarian Award for Global Health in recognition of his extraordinary work as an advocate for global health initiatives and the accomplishments of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).
Following his keynote address, President Clinton participated in a question-and-answer session with ASCP Executive Vice President Dr. Blair Holladay, during which President Clinton underscored the vital need of the laboratory team to help alleviate pain and suffering across the world. Additionally, President Clinton explained the importance of private and government partnerships to support new infrastructure and health care in the developing world.
“ASCP shares President Clinton’s deep concern for those affected by HIV/AIDS,” Dr. Holladay said. “ASCP is dedicated to sharing the expertise of our pathologists and laboratory professionals to improve the health of patients globally.”
Another steadfast advocate for health care for the poorest of the poor, Partners In Health founder Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, presented the Scientific Address at the 2011 ASCP Annual Meeting. For 30 years, Dr. Farmer has treated impoverished patients in Haiti, Rwanda, Peru, and other disadvantaged countries. He has raised money to build hospitals where there have been no healthcare facilities. Living just four months a year in the United States, Dr. Farmer spends the rest of his year tirelessly caring for patients in Rwanda, Haiti, and beyond.
Dr. Farmer was honored with the ASCP Patients’ Advocate Award. Calling him a “premier change agent for global health,” Dr. Holladay said, “Dr. Farmer’s scientific keynote set the stage for uniting science, collaboration, and international outreach for 2011 ASCP Annual Meeting participants.”
Both President Clinton and Dr. Farmer served to further inspire pathologists and laboratory professionals to become involved in shared initiatives, while new education sessions highlighted personalized medicine and evidence-based research, as well as a variety of other breakthrough topics.