Mardge Cohen, MD
This Fall, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation will present the inaugural Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz Humanism in Healthcare Award to Dr. Mardge Cohen, MD. This award will be presented annually to a woman who exemplifies humanism and has advanced, through her scholarship, advocacy, leadership or work, the well-being of vulnerable or underserved populations in the health care arena. Dr. Cohen is Medical Director, Women Equity in AIDS Care and Treatment-Rwanda (WE-ACTx), practicing physician at Boston Health Care for the Homeless, and Founder of the Women and Children HIV Program at Cook County Hospital, Chicago. She has been advocating for people living with HIV, especially women and children, for close to 30 years. Dr. Cohen will be presented with a plaque and a check for $1,000 from The Arnold P. Gold Foundation at an award ceremony to be held in Boston in the Spring.
Three applicants will receive honorable mentions:
- Dr. Anne Armstrong-Coben, a pediatrician and Medical Director at Children’s Aid and Family Services in New Jersey who advocates for improving access to healthcare for children living in foster care;
- Lynn Ricci, MA, LTCA, an advocate for children with autism and their families and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Autism Center at the Hospital for Special Care in Connecticut; and
- Marilyn Saviola, MA, Vice President at the Independence Care System, Women’s Health Access Program in New York where she works to address health disparities experienced by people with disabilities.
Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz 
(1907-1993) was an advocate and humanitarian who championed the needs of vulnerable populations and fought for legislation to protect and bolster the lives of individuals who, by virtue of physical, social or economic circumstances, required services. The Award in her name was established in 2014 thanks to a generous gift from Dr. Ronald Arky, Daniel D. Federman Professor of Medicine and Medical Education at the Harvard Medical School and Master of the Francis Weld Peabody Society at that School. The Foundation issued a call for nominations and was greatly touched by the range of truly impressive and inspiring women that were nominated.
