The Doctors Kienle Center for Humanistic Medicine Announces 2021 Humanitarian Award Winners
Compassionate care to patients and colleagues, sensitivity to patients and families of diverse backgrounds, commitment to ensure patients and families understand medical diagnoses and treatment—these are some of the core attributes of this year’s recipients of the Kienle Center’s Humanitarian Awards.
Given annually, the awards recognize individuals who demonstrate empathy and compassion and a commitment to humanitarian service. Recipients are a third-year medical student, a resident and a nurse.
Jungeun ‘Jasmine’ Lee, MD Candidate, Class of 2023, earned the Kienle Humanitarian Award for Third-Year Medical Students. Noted in her nomination was both her commitment to address racial inequities and her advocacy for patients of diverse backgrounds who have often been marginalized by the medical profession.
“My end goal is to be a health-equity-driven, humanistic, and systems-minded surgeon, and I am grateful for the opportunities that are bringing me closer to my dream,” Lee said.
The winner of the 2021 Mary Louise Witmer Jones Resident Humanitarian Award is Alicia Greene DO, a resident in General Surgery, Department of Surgery. Greene was lauded for engaging in direct patient care of COVID-19 patients, recognizing the individual person and unique course of illness in each person and for providing comfort and hope to all.
“Having my first year of residency occur during the COVID-19 pandemic certainly generated new and unexpected challenges,” Greene said. “But I was also able to experience the inspiring collaboration between all staff members in the hospital caring for patients isolated from their families.”
Sandra Franz, RN, earned the Nurse’s Humanitarian Award in Honor of Lawrence F. Kienle, MD. An inpatient medical surgical float pool nurse, Franz was praised for her clinical expertise, professionalism and concern and compassion for all of her patients.
Like the other award winners, Franz said she found inspiration in her colleagues’ responses to the challenges of 2020.
“I’m grateful for the example of each person that encouraged me to be brave and compassionate during times of uncertainty and adversity,” Franz said.
Humanitarian care was at the forefront throughout 2020, said Claire de Boer, director of the Kienle Center.
“Like many others in our health system, the recipients of this year’s award answered the call to care for others during a global pandemic and did so in ways that exhibited extraordinay empathy and compassion,” de Boer said.