The Gorgas Medal was originally established as an annual award in 1915 by the Medical Reserve Corps Association of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in honor of

Surgeon General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

William C. Gorgas William Crawford Gorgas KCMG (October 3, 1854 – July 3, 1920) was a United States Army physician and 22nd Surgeon General of the U.S. Army (1914–1918). He is best known for his work in Florida, Havana and at the Panama Canal in abating th ...

, U.S. Army. The award was based on a writing competition open to members of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, the U.S. Army Medical Reserve Corps, and to Medical Corps members of other “organized militia”. Surgeon General Gorgas appointed Colonel Charles Richard, Lieutenant Colonel Champe C. McCulloch, Jr., and Major Eugene R. Whitmore, Medical Corps, to form a review board and act as judge and jury for the writing competition. These officers were members of the Army Medical School faculty. In 1942, the Gorgas Medal was established by Wyeth Laboratories of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to honor Major General

William Crawford Gorgas William Crawford Gorgas Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (October 3, 1854 – July 3, 1920) was a Medical Corps (United States Army), United States Army physician and 22nd Surgeons General of the United States Army, Surgeon General of the ...

. The award was to be presented annually for ‘distinguished work in preventative medicine’. The award consisted of a Silver Medal, a scroll, and an

honorarium An honorarium is an '' ex gratia'' payment, i.e., a payment made, without the giver recognizing themself as having any liability or legal obligation to the recipient for their volunteered services, or for services for which fees are not tradition ...

of $500. In 2010, the

Association of Military Surgeons of the United States AMSUS, The Society of Federal Health Professionals, is a non-profit (501c3) professional association for all U.S. federal health professionals serving in the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Se ...

(AMSUS) restructured the awards program and the Gorgas Medal and Prize was no longer awarded. AMSUS took over administering the Gorgas Medal for

Wyeth Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. was a pharmaceutical company until it was purchased by Pfizer in 2009. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as John Wyeth and Brother. Its headquarters moved to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, a ...

and renamed the award the William Gorgas Preventive Medicine Award.Hume, E. E. (1942). The medals of the United States Army Medical Department and medals honoring army medical officers (No. 98). American Numismatic Society. AMSUS is the Society of Federal Health Professionals. The award was given to an individual for 'distinguished work in preventive medicine, clinical application, education or research'. To be eligible for the award, nominees had to be

veterinarians A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

environmental engineers Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

or sanitation engineers, or from other discipline not from other individual professional award categories from any of the five health agencies represented by AMSUS. The criteria for receiving the award required the individual to have demonstrated accomplishments in accordance with the following objectives:

*Contributions to the eradication, control and/or prevention of disease, including, but not limited to, development of new vaccines and treatment protocols *Educational endeavors leading to a healthier population *Development of modern biological defense medical countermeasures *Development and identification of emerging technologies that may occur during any phase of medical product development from inception through licensure (Recognition may include the full range of technologies on how new products are manufactured, formulated and administered.)

List of Gorgas Medal Awardees by decade

2000s

*2009, Colonel Lisa Keep,

United States Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least o ...

*2008, Lieutenant Colonel Rodney L. Coldren, United States Army Medical Corps *2007, Colonel Ralph L. Erickson, United States Army Medical Corps *2006, Captain Sven E. Rodenbeck,

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

*2005, Captain Laurence Reed, United States Public Health Service *2004, Colonel Bonnie L. Smoak, United States Army Medical Corps *2003, Rear Admiral Robert C. Williams, United States Public Health Service *2002, Colonel Raj K. Gupta,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Medical Service Corps *2001, Colonel Patrick W. Kelley, United States Army Medical Corps *2000, John D. Hamilton, M.D.,

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

1990s

*1999, Captain Frederick Burkle, Jr., MC,

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

*1998, Rear Admiral Douglas B. Kamerow, United States Public Health Service *1997, Colonel Michael W. Benenson, United States Army Medical Corps *1996, Captain Robert N. Hoover, United States Public Health Service *1995, Colonel William H. Bancroft, United States Army Medical Corps *1994, Captain John D. Boice, Jr., United States Public Health Service *1993, Rear Admiral

James O. Mason James Ostermann Mason (June 19, 1930 – October 9, 2019) was an American medical doctor and public health administrator. He was the United States Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) from 1989 to 1993 and the Acting Surgeon General of the Uni ...

, United States Public Health Service *1992, Captain John Richard Gorham, United States Public Health Service *1991, Captain George James Hill, MC United States Naval Reserve *1990, Colonel Alfred K. Cheng, USAF MC

1980s

*1989, Captain Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., United States Public Health Service *1988, Lieutenant Colonel Wilbur Kearse Milhous, MSC United States Army *1987, John Donald Millar, M.D., United States Public Health Service *1986, John V. Bennett, M.D., United States Public Health Service *1985, Colonel Llewellyn J. Legters, United States Army Medical Corps Retired *1984, Lieutenant Colonel Ernest T. Takafuji, United States Army Medical Corps *1983, Colonel George D. Lathrop, USAF MC *1983, Lieutenant Colonel William H. Wolfe, USAF MC *1983, Dr. Richard A. Albanese *1982, Captain Robert Lincoln Kaiser, United States Public Health Service *1981, Captain Eugene G. Rudd, United States Army Medical Corps *1980, Commander Richard R. Hooper, MC USN

1970s

*1979, Colonel Craig J. Canfield, United States Army Medical Corps *1978, Colonel George D. Lathrop, USAF MC *1977, Robert H. Purcell, M.D., United States Public Health Service *1976, Captain George M. Lawton, MC USN *1975, Colonel Phillip K. Russell, United States Army Medical Corps *1974, Martin D. Young,

Sc.D. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

*1973, Captain Charles W. Ochs, MC USN *1972, Dr.

Robert M. Chanock Robert Merritt Chanock (July 8, 1924 – July 30, 2010) was an American pediatrics, pediatrician and virology, virologist who made major contributions to the prevention and treatment of childhood respiratory infections in more than 50 years spent ...

, United States Public Health Service *1971, Malcolm S. Artenstein, M.D., United States Army *1970, Colonel Dan Crozier, United States Army Medical Corps

1960s

*1969, Patricia A. Webb, M.D., United States Public Health Service *1968, Samuel W. Simmons, M.D., United States Public Health Service *1967, Captain James R. Kingston, MC USN *1966, Colonel William D. Tigertt, United States Army Medical Corps *1965, Lieutenant Colonel Edward L. Buescher, United States Army Medical Corps *1964, Dr. Harry D. Pratt, United States Public Health Service *1963, Charles C. Shepard, Chief Project Unit, United States Public Health Service *1962, Lieutenant Colonel William S. Gochenour, United States Army Veterinary Corps *1961, Dr. James Shaw ( Asst. SG, United States Public Health Service) *1960, Captain

David Minard Captain David Minard, MC, USN (May 23, 1913 – October 9, 2005) was an American physiologist who was heat stress physiologist for Project Mercury, the United States' first human spaceflight. In the late 1950s, Minard as a captain in the U.S. ...

, M.D., Ph.D.,

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) are interdisciplinary profes ...

, MC USN

1950s

*1959, Colonel Albert J. Glass, United States Army Medical Corps *1958, Lieutenant Commander John H. Ebersole, M.D., MC USN *1957, Colonel John Paul Stapp, USAF MC *1956, Captain Robert S. Poos, MC USN *1955, Colonel Victor A. Byrnes, USAF MC *1954, Dr. G. Robert Coatney, United States Public Health Service *1953, Colonel Douglas B. Kendricks, Jr., United States Army Medical Corps *1953, Captain Lloyd R. Newhouser, MC USN *1952, Brigadier General James Stevens Simmons, United States Army Retired *1951, Rear Admiral C.S. Stephenson, United States Army Retired *1950, Major General Malcolm C. Grow, United States Air Force Retired

1940s

*1949, Dental Director H. Trendley Dean, United States Public Health Service *1948, Major General Edgar Erskine Hume, United States Army Medical Corps *1947, Major General Paul R. Hawley, United States Army Retired *1946, Brig. General Raymond A. Kelser, United States Army Retired *1945, Captain L.T. Coggeshall, MC

USNR The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

*1944, Commander James J. Sapero, MC USN *1943, Surgeon General Hugh S. Cumming, United States Public Health Service Retired *1942, Rear Admiral E.R. Stitt, United States Navy Retired *1942, Brigadier General Jefferson Randolph Kean, United States Army Retired *1942, Brigadier General Frederick Fuller Russell, United States Army Medical Corps, Reserve

References

{{Reflist

External links

Association of Military Surgeons of the United States
Awards established in 1915 Medicine awards Awards established in 1942 1915 establishments in New York (state)