Conway-Welch receives global health award
Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D., CNM, dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, was recognized with the first-ever Project HOPE Global Health Leadership Award for her accomplishments and impact in health care worldwide. She received the award during the organization’s annual gala on June 12 in Washington, D.C.
Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D., CNM
Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health crises, with the mission of helping people to help themselves. It operates the world’s first peacetime hospital ship, the SS HOPE, and conducts land-based medical training and health education programs in 35 countries.
“There are many individuals and organizations making a difference in the lives of those whose voices often go unheard throughout the world,” said John Howe III, president and CEO of Project HOPE. “We wanted to recognize the unsung heroes. Their influence on the health of people in developing countries is at the heart of the Project HOPE Global Health Awards.”
Conway-Welch was honored for her contributions spanning five decades, including more than 40 years as a nurse and educator. She has traveled the globe in her efforts to improve medical care in underserved communities, spearheading successful health education programs from Botswana to Bahrain.
She served on President Reagan’s Commission on HIV, the 1998 National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare and the 2002 Advisory Council on Public Health Preparedness. She is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science and in 2007 was appointed by President Bush to the Board of Regents of the Uniformed University of the Health Sciences.
Also at the meeting, John Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman, president and CEO of Eli Lilly and Co., received The Project HOPE Global Health Partner Award, and Operation Smile received The Project Hope Global Impact Award.
For more information, go to projecthope.org.