The Gold Foundation’s 2021 Annual Gala

The COVID-19 pandemic has created immense upheaval in the world. We salute our healthcare professionals. Their courage, compassion and dedication to their patients is humanism in action. We are so grateful for their incredible work in this unprecedented time.

Every year we celebrate such extraordinary humanism at our Annual Gala, bringing together so many who believe strongly in our mission. In 2021, our Annual Gala was virtual and held on Thursday, June 10th.

We honored hundreds of Champions of Humanistic Care and awarded the 2021 National Humanism in Medicine Medal to three titans of humanism in healthcare: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Wayne Riley, Dr. Eric Topol. Read more about them below. Dr. Fauci accepted his medal on behalf of all healthcare professionals who have cared with such compassion and courage in the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Thank you to our sponsors & supporters!

Congratulations to the Champions of Humanistic Care!

Download the 2021 Gala Program.

2021 Honorees

The Gold Foundation honored three visionary leaders who embody the ideal of placing human interests, values and dignity at the core of healthcare:

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci, Iconic Leader in U.S. Healthcare, Global Pioneer in Infectious Disease Research, and Compassionate Advocate of the American People during the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Dr. Wayne J. Riley, Celebrated 17th President of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Luminary of Medical Education Educator, and Transformative Leader for Health Equity and Humanism in Healthcare
  • Dr. Eric Topol, Renowned Molecular Cardiologist and Geneticist, World Leader in Medical Research, Humanist Practitioner, and Bestselling Author on the Future of Medicine

Read the full 2021 announcement and learn more about their remarkable impact on humanism in healthcare.

Champions of Humanistic Care

Gold Foundation-affiliated institutions have selected more than 200 Champions of Humanistic Care for their compassion and courage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

View the list of the Champions of Humanistic Care.

Watch videos submitted by Champions of Humanistic Care.

Every Champion is listed in more detail in our 90-page PDF gala program.

Download the Gala Program.

2021 Gold Gala host

The host for the 2021 Annual Gala was Gold Trustee Dr. Kimberly Manning, a spectacular champion of humanism in healthcare who has been a national advocate for a deeper understanding of vaccine deliberation throughout the pandemic. Dr. Manning is a general internist/hospitalist at Grady Memorial Hospital and Associate Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, where she is a Professor of Medicine and residency program director. She is a prolific writer and authors a blog called “Reflections of a Grady Doctor,” which was named in 2010 by O, The Oprah Magazine, as one of four medical blogs you should read. Follow her and her wonderful stories of humanism in action at @gradydoctor on Twitter.

 

Special music of the evening

Felicia Temple performed at the 2021 Annual Gala.

Felicia Temple’s music has that magical quality that only reveals itself after overcoming years of hardship. A cancer survivor and Registered Nurse who went on to work in the ICU during the depths of the Covid-19 crisis, her powerful story has endeared her to fans around the world. Now, as she enters the post quarantine era, Felicia is preparing to share her sultry brand of R&B with a larger audience than ever before.

Felicia honed her skills at the famed Village Underground in New York City before making her breakthrough as a contestant on season 12 of The Voice. Her success introduced her to an international fanbase, and soon, she was touring prolifically, both as a solo artist and supporting Grammy-nominated singer Deborah Cox. Felicia was touring internationally on the Whitney Houston Hologram Tour and enjoying the biggest success of her career when the pandemic hit.

Having overcome Neuroendocrine Cancer as a young woman, Felicia felt an urge to contribute to the fight against Coronavirus. With her music career on pause, she worked tirelessly on the frontlines, saving countless lives and risking her own every day. Her experiences gave her a new lease on life, and saw her honored as Hometown Hero by New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer.

Support the Gold Foundation

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation champions humanism in healthcare, which we define as compassionate, collaborative, and scientifically excellent care. This Gold standard of care embraces all and targets barriers to such care. We empower experts, learners, and leaders to together create systems and cultures that support humanistic care for all.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the world has witnessed the immense compassion and courage of doctors, nurses, and members of the whole healthcare team in their care of sick and dying patients.

At the Gold Foundation, we work to support such empathy and connection from the early days of training at medical and nursing schools through healthcare professionals’ entire careers. We are grateful to clinicians and leaders for their great care.

Gala Sponsorship Opportunities

The Gold Foundation Annual Gala offers a range of recognition opportunities, including a listing on our website and in our digital gala program, a sponsorship listing on the screen during the event, and a special recognition from the podium on the evening of the gala.

Download the Gala Sponsorship Brochure (PDF) for full details.

Reserve your sponsorship or tickets.

If you would like to be a sponsor of the Annual Gala or support one of our initiatives, please reach out to Stuart Chizzik at schizzik@gold-foundation.org.

We are grateful to our sponsors and supporters! Click here to view the list.

2022 Honorees

Three distinguished honorees who were announced in 2020 will be accepting their National Humanism in Medicine Medals in 2022:

  • Deb O’Hara-Rusckowski, extraordinary international activist, philanthropist, and founder of Nurses with Global Impact, Inc.
  • Steve Rusckowski, global business and healthcare leader and visionary Chairman, President and CEO of Quest Diagnostics
  • Dr. Danielle Ofri, renowned physician-author and co-founder of the Bellevue Literary Review

Read more in our 2020 announcement. The 2020 Annual Gala was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019 Golden Thread Gala

Our 2019 event was a very special evening! Read about the 2019 honorees, remarks by them and other luminaries from the gala, and view the photo gallery.