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NEWS
FROM CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE
April 15, 2008
Cambridge and Boston Schools Celebrate Social Justice Award at Harvard Medical School with Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner John M. Auerbach
Boston, Cambridge, MA — John M. Auerbach, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, received the Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award on April 15, 2008, at Harvard Medical School’s Reflection in Action: Building Healthy Communities™ (RIA) celebration. In front of an audience of hundreds of Boston and Cambridge schoolchildren, the program’s founder, Dr. Joan Y. Reede, Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School (HMS), presented the award to Commissioner Auerbach.
The Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award is given annually to individuals whose actions exemplify a commitment to social justice, civic engagement, the building of community, and the furthering of equity. Cambridge Health Alliance, a community partner and HMS teaching affiliate, helped to create this award. The festivities were held at Harvard Medical School, Boston.
RIA links the arts with science in a competitive, yet celebratory event for 6th-9th graders in Boston and Cambridge. Students draw on their creativity in the visual, written, and performing arts to grapple with health and societal issues that are of particular concern to struggling urban families. Their activities culminate during an all-day celebration of science, creativity, and health at HMS. In the morning, winners in each category (visual, written, and performing arts) were announced and the first-place winners performed their winning entries before a large audience of students, teachers, parents, community members, and Harvard officials.
Ruth M. Batson was one of Boston’s best-known figures in education, healthcare, and civil rights. Her outstanding career began with the NAACP Boston Branch. Her most renowned accomplishment occurred in the early 1960s when she led the challenge to the Boston Public School system for educational equality for African American students in Boston and founded Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO).
The first Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award was given last year to her daughter, Susan Batson, who was on hand this year to celebrate Commissioner Auerbach. She was joined by Claude-Alix Jacob of Cambridge Health Alliance, who is the Chief Public Health Officer for the City of Cambridge and director of the Cambridge Public Health Department.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
John M. Auerbach was appointed Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in April 2007 by Governor Deval Patrick and Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby. As Commissioner he heads a Department with 3,100 employees that includes four public health hospitals, the State Laboratory, several regulatory bodies, and numerous programmatic units addressing chronic and infectious disease, substance abuse, environmental health, tobacco control, children and adolescent health and emergency preparedness. He is the Chair of the Public Health Council, the State’s health policy board, and a member of the Governor’s Anti-Crime Council.
Reflection in Action: Building Healthy Communities™ is a novel and exciting way to encourage learning about science and health. This year, RIA’s fifth, over 290 submissions in several categories from 371 youths including the performing arts, visual arts, and written entries were reviewed by a team of local “celebrity” judges. Since its conception RIA has reached more than 1,000 students in more than 20 different public and private schools in Boston and Cambridge.
http://www.mfdp.med.harvard.edu/reflectioninaction/
Ruth M. Batson was one of Boston’s best-known figures in education, healthcare, and civil rights. Her outstanding career began with the NAACP Boston Branch. Her most renowned accomplishment occurred in the early 1960s when she led the challenge to the Boston Public School system for educational equality for African American students in Boston and founded Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Batson
The Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award was sculpted by Dr. Fay Stevenson-Smith. She has exhibited at the National Black Fine Arts Show in New York City, the annual African American History Exhibition at the Rich Forum in Stamford, Connecticut, and other numerous venues.
Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is an innovative, award-winning health system that provides high quality care in Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Revere, and the surrounding Metro-North communities in Massachusetts. It is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and includes three hospitals, more than 20 primary care practices, the Cambridge Public Health Department, and the Network Health plan. With this unique model, CHA is able to offer the finest health services, a diverse working environment, and a premier training experience for those interested in community-based medicine. http://www.challiance.org/
Harvard Medical School has more than 7,500 full-time faculty working in 11 academic departments located at the School's Boston campus or in one of 47 hospital-based clinical departments at 18 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes. http://hms.harvard.edu
Caption: From left -- Claude-Alix Jacob, Chief Public Health Officer for the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Health Alliance; Dr. Nancy Oriol, Dean for Students at Harvard Medical School; Susan Batson, the first recipient of the award and daughter of Ruth M. Batson; John M. Auerbach, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; and Dr. Joan Reede, Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School at Reflection in Action: Building Healthy Communities, held at Harvard Medical School on April 15, 2008 (photo by Jeff Thiebauth)
Caption: Students from the Jackson/Mann K-8 School in Allston perform a song-and-dance routine promoting health awareness at Harvard Medical School’s Reflection in Action: Building Healthy Communities celebration on April 15, 2008 (photo by Jeff Thiebauth)
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Contacts
Judith Montminy
Harvard Medical School
Phone: 617-432-0442
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