Latest News from Volunteers in Medicine

January 2011:

AMA Foundation Honors VIM-Chattanooga Physician

Dr. Robert Bowers is the recipient of the 2011 Jack B. McConnell, MD, Award for Excellence in Volunteerism. Presented by the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation, in association with Pfizer Inc, the award recognizes the work of senior physician volunteers who provide health care access to patients in the United States.

An activist in organized medicine and community outreach his entire career, Dr. Bowers decided he was not going to slow down as a senior physician. At age 79, he has continued his commitment to increase access to health care for the uninsured of Hamilton County by serving as the Medical Director of Volunteers in Medicine, Chattanooga. In this volunteer position for over six years, Dr. Bowers played a key role in establishing the clinic's medical policies, securing medical equipment, implementing electronic medical records, creating partnerships in the health care community and recruiting volunteers.

Dr. Bowers is founder and past president of the Medical Foundation of Chattanooga and played an integral role in the creation of the Project Access Initiative, through which 650 Hamilton County physicians provide free specialty health care services to the underserved.

The award will be presented in February at the 2011 Excellence in Medicine Awards Ceremony, in conjunction with the AMA National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC.

For more about the Excellence in Volunteerism Award, visit www.amafoundation.org/go/excellence.