Washington, D.C., May 31, 2007 - The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) announced today that its annual award for community service will be renamed the "Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service." Known to his colleagues and friends as "Spike," Dr. Foreman is president of Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, and earlier this year announced his intention to retire. He served as chair of the AAMC from 1992 to 1993, and he is currently a Distinguished Service Member on the AAMC Executive Council.

During his tenure as AAMC chair, Dr. Foreman was the driving force behind the establishment of the community service award. The award honors a major commitment by a medical school or teaching hospital to address the needs of their surrounding communities through exceptional programs that go beyond an institution's traditional service roles. Dr. Foreman presented the first AAMC Outstanding Community Service Award to the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1993.

In 1996, Montefiore Medical Center received the award for its 125-year history and heritage of incomparable community service. Under Dr. Foreman's leadership, Montefiore, the teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, created new initiatives to continue this tradition, including the Social Medicine Residency Program, the nation's largest School Health Program, a Lead Safe House, a Child Advocacy Center, and a network of 21 community-based primary care sites, to name a few. Montefiore's approach, which stresses collaborations that unite the strengths of an academic medical center with local and state agencies, is a national model for how to provide community service and health care in an urban environment.

"I can think of no one more appropriate to name this annual award after than Dr. Spencer Foreman," said AAMC President Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. "During his long and distinguished career, Dr. Foreman's exemplary dedication and commitment to community service have set an example for all of us in academic medicine."

"I am proud of Montefiore's guiding principle of staying close to our historical roots as a force for community betterment, creating a wide array of social programs and spearheading community redevelopment," said Dr. Foreman. "In so many ways, Montefiore is a model health system for much of urban America, advancing the interests of those who depend on us for vital health care services."

A hospital and health systems chief executive for 35 years, Dr. Foreman has served as president of Montefiore, one of the largest academic medical centers in the country, since 1986. Previously, he was president of Sinai Hospital and director of the U.S. Public Health Hospital, both in Baltimore. He graduated from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and is certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease.

The 2007 Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service will be presented to this year's winner at the AAMC's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., Nov. 2-7.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a nonprofit association representing all 125 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, ranks among the top one percent of all US hospitals based on its investments in medical innovation and cutting-edge technology. Montefiore invests more in order to enable compassionate, personalized care and the most positive outcomes for patients and their families in New York, the tri-state area and beyond. Montefiore's unique combination of 'state-of-the-art' technology with 'state-of-the-heart' medical and nursing care in a teaching and research environment offer patients access to world-class medical experts, the newest and most innovative treatments and the best medical center experience anywhere.

This 1,122 bed medical center includes the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, the Jack D. Weiler Hospital and The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, a large home healthcare agency and a 21-site medical group practice located throughout the Bronx and nearby Westchester.

Montefiore treats all major illnesses and has distinguished centers of excellence in cardiology and cardiac surgery, cancer care, tissue and organ transplantation, children's health, women's health, surgery and the surgical subspecialties. Montefiore Medical Center focuses on providing family-centered healthcare in a nurturing environment that extends well beyond its hospital and ambulatory settings. Please visit www.montefiore.org and www.montekids.org for more information.

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