The New York Academy of Medicine: News & Publications: Academy Raises More Than $750,000 at 2007 Award Gala

Academy Raises More Than $750,000 at 2007 Award Gala

Funds will support the Academy’s work to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations

NEW YORK CITY, March 29—The New York Academy of Medicine raised more than $750,000 last night at its 2007 Award Gala, a warm and festive black-tie affair at the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue attended by 350 leaders in health, policy, business, and media. The crowd of enthusiastic supporters joined the Academy in celebrating honorees who are addressing great challenges to health, and generously contributed funds to support the Academy’s commitment to improving the health of people living in cities across the nation and around the world.

(Left to Right) Honoree James W. Fordyce, Honoree Joseph M. Feczko, MD, Academy President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, Honoree Bob Wright, and Academy Chairman Thomas Q. Morris, MD

The Academy honored Joseph M. Feczko, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer Inc and an Academy Trustee, James W. Fordyce, Chairman of The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, and Bob Wright, Vice Chairman and Executive Officer of GE, Chairman of NBC Universal, and founder of the Autism Speaks organization. Each honoree was presented with an inscribed Tiffany crystal prism and lauded for working to better the health of the disadvantaged, in step with the Academy’s mission.

“Tonight’s Gala provides an opportunity to appreciate the public good that can come from both organizational and individual vision and commitment to improving health,” Academy President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, told the audience.

Pfizer helps 38 million patients every day live longer, healthier lives, said Academy Treasurer Damion E. Wicker, MD, upon introducing Dr. Feczko. The pharmaceutical giant has distributed 20 million doses of Zithromax to treat trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness, and makes free medications available to those in need through its “Sharing the Care” program, for example.

Joseph M. Feczko, MD, accepts his award

“I accept this award on behalf of the 100,000 employees of Pfizer,” Dr. Feczko said. “As a new Trustee, I’m really looking forward to working with trustees and Dr. Boufford in advancing the role of the Academy.”

The Lasker Foundation has affected the health of countless individuals through its support of medical researchers, explained Gerald E. Thomson, MD, Secretary of the Academy Board, as he introduced Mr. Fordyce. The Lasker Medical Science Awards have honored the great minds responsible for the introduction of penicillin, the polio vaccine, the invention of cardiac surgery, and other momentous advances. Over the years, 71 winners of the Lasker Award have gone on to receive Nobel prizes, Thomson pointed out.

“Let me express my appreciation to The New York Academy of Medicine for recognizing the work of the Lasker Foundation,” Mr. Fordyce said. He cautioned the audience that Congressional commitment to scientific research is showing signs of wavering. The budget of the National Institutes of Health has been shrinking but too few people are taking notice, he said, likening it to the early days of global warming. “I urge all of you tonight to take notice of this,” Mr. Fordyce said. “If we don’t invest in the future, the future will be less bright and further away.”

Thomas Q. Morris, MD, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, introduced Bob Wright and lauded him for his accomplishments as Chairman of NBC Universal and as founder of the Autism Speaks foundation. Dr. Morris explained that NBC offers public service announcements that reach 64 million viewers each week with health-related information, and that the NBC Foundation supports programs that strengthen secondary education for disadvantaged students. Mr. Wright and his wife, Suzanne, launched Autism Speaks in 2005 after their grandson was diagnosed with autism. “Mr. Wright is honored tonight for his strategic vision and his mission to give hope to those who are suffering from autism, as well as aid to their families,” Dr. Morris said.

Mr. Wright made an impassioned plea to Academy staff and Gala guests to support autism research and efforts to increase early diagnoses. If a child is diagnosed with autism by the age of 2 or 3 and receives aggressive therapy, there is a 50 percent chance that he will be able to attend regular school with some assistance, Mr. Wright said. If that diagnosis does not come until the age of 6 or 7, as is often the case in minority communities, “their chances of migrating through the public school system is zero,” he said.

(Left to Right) Sebastian Bonner, PhD, investigator and asthma specialist at the Academy, Ellen Simon, DSW, Executive Director of Union Settlement Association, Lorna Davis, MS, Director of the Asthma Initiative at the city Health Department, and Paul Lawrence, President and CEO of HSBC Bank USA

The 2007 Gala was the first presided over by Dr. Boufford, who took office in February, and there were many visible and exciting changes. The Gala was held for the first time in years at the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue and 61st Street. A dance floor and live band with three energetic singers roused many guests to their feet and had them dancing into the evening. Dozens of Academy staff members attended and were asked to stand and be recognized. A powerful video highlighting images of preschool children at play chronicled the Academy’s successful collaboration with an East Harlem daycare center and the city Health Department in tracking asthma in youth and getting them into proper care. The video was greeted by hearty audience applause.

Dr. Boufford spoke of her excitement about leading the institution, and said that while she will continue a strategic review of the Academy’s direction over the next several months, several basic themes have emerged as important to her. Those are for the Academy to strike the proper balance between its honorific and service roles, build upon the significant base of research and practice in urban public health, and continue to create, share, and apply knowledge that can improve health through research, collaboration, and policy development.

Academy President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, addresses Gala attendees

“We know that 70 percent of the world’s population will be living in megacities by the end of the next decade,” Dr. Boufford said. “Our mission is to promote the health of all people living in cities, especially the most vulnerable due to race, ethnicity, poverty or social exclusion. This commitment must remain at the core of all of our work.”

The fundraising dinner was a tremendous success in part because of the hard work of the six Gala Chairmen. They are Edward J. Ludwig, Chairman, President, and CEO of the medical technology company BD, and a Gala honoree in 2006; Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal; John K. Castle, Chairman of the Castle Harlan private equity investment firm and of Castle, Connolly Medical, a healthcare research and information company; and three very special Academy Trustees. Those Trustees are Thomas L. Harrison, Chairman and CEO of Diversified Agency Services, a group of marketing services companies and a division of the Omnicom Group; Joseph M. Hogan, President and CEO of GE Healthcare; and Morris W. Offit, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Offit Hall Capital Management, an investment advisory firm. Each of the chairmen was thanked with a gift of a unique framed print from among the special treasures of the Academy’s Historical Collections.

Founded in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. The Academy is a leading center for urban health policy and action working to enhance the health of people living in cities worldwide through research, education, advocacy, and prevention. Visit us online at www.nyam.org.

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Posted on 03/29/2007

Contact:
Malini Doddamani
Director of Communications
mdoddamani@nyam.org
212.822.7285

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