Heroes recognized for improving health and health care in their communities

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) will honor 10 unsung heroes with the announcement of the 2009 recipients of its Community Health Leaders (CHL) Award on October 8, 2009, at the Mayflower Hotel. The 10 heroes who will receive the award have overcome daunting odds to improve the health and quality of life for underserved men, women and children in communities across the United States. RWJF President and chief executive officer Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., will participate in the presentation of the awards to the 2009 Community Health Leaders. The Community Health Leaders Award elevates the work of the leaders by raising awareness of their extraordinary contributions through national visibility, a $125,000 award and networking opportunities.

With health care reform at the top of the nation's agenda, these 10 new Community Health Leaders are moving forward to address unmet health care needs in their communities. The 2009 awardees have worked independently on a range of projects such as ensuring that Medicaid beneficiaries in Cincinnati, Ohio, have access to services that they are entitled to, or that impoverished families in the Anacostia community of Washington, D.C., have access to mental health services. Other leaders have expanded dental care services to a Native Alaska population living in an isolated area of the state, and have provided primary care and family planning services for low-income and uninsured individuals in Amarillo, Texas.

WHO:
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will honor Community Health Leaders from Barrow, Alaska; Phoenix Ariz.; Sells, Ariz.; San Francisco, Calif.; Lowell, Mass.; New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; New York, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; Amarillo, Texas; and Washington, D.C. Embargoed copies of press releases and leader profiles are also available.

WHAT:
RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey will present the 2009 Community Health Leaders Award to 10 individuals who have overcome daunting odds to improve the health and quality of life for disadvantaged and underserved men, women and children in communities across the United States.

The venue provides an opportunity for media to interview RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey and the incoming 2009 Community Health Leaders.

WHEN:
Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:
The Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

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