American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's (JDC) Medical Director in Ethiopia Receives Mastership From American College of Physicians
CONTACT: Dara Lehon, JDC, Phone: 212.885.0838, Email: dara.lehon@jdcny.org
--- Long Island Native, Dr. Rick Hodes Recognized for Excellence and Contribution to the Medical Field---
NEW YORK, May 13, 2008—JDC's Medical Director in Ethiopia, Dr. Rick Hodes, will be honored at a convocation ceremony held in Washington DC on May 15th by The American College of Physicians (ACP), the nation's largest medical-specialty organization. At the ceremony, Hodes will be officially recognized as one of 46 Masters of the college (MACP), a highly selective position which recognizes outstanding career accomplishments. In December, CNN selected the Long Island native as a finalist in the "Championing Children" category of "CNN Heroes," a program which highlights "ordinary" people for their extraordinary achievements for his exemplary work caring for those with heart disease, spine disease, and cancer in Ethiopia over the past two decades.
Now communicating with specialists around the world to help diagnose and treat the ailments of his Ethiopian patients via the Internet, Hodes has historically been engaged in international medicine: during medical school, he spent a summer working in Bangladesh and also spent time interning in India. Upon graduating from the University of Rochester Medical School and training in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University, Hodes headed to Ethiopia in 1985 as a Fulbright lecturer in Medicine. In addition to his work in Ethiopia, he was dispatched by JDC during crises in Goma Zaire (1994) and Albania (1997) to set up medical protocols and assistance for Rwandan and Kosovo refugees. Hodes also serves as an advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Health.
New MACP Masters have made a notable contribution to medicine, including but not limited to: teaching, outstanding work in clinical medicine (research or practice), contributing to preventive medicine, improving the delivery of health care, and/or contributing to medical literature. Volunteer and community service is also taken into consideration. MACPs have been recommended by their peers, endorsed by their local ACP chapter Governor, and reviewed by a national credentials subcommittee.
To learn more about JDC's programs in Ethiopia or to donate, go to: www.jdc.org/how_donate.html.
Background on Hodes:
In 1990, Dr. Hodes' position as a physician in Ethiopia for JDC was to care for 25,000 Potential Immigrants to Israel. Since that time, he has been attending to all of the medical needs of those in the area. Hodes is also a Senior Physical and Medical Consultant at a catholic mission medical facility, where the sick destituted come for medical care. He has found doctors to perform life-altering surgery on Ethiopian children at low cost, and he purchases drugs from India and Kenya at pennies to the dollar. There are hundreds of examples of Dr. Hodes' selflessness, ingenuity, academic curiosity, persistence against all odds, and clinical acumen that have resulted in hundreds of lives saved and suffering alleviated. His memoir essay "A Birth in Tedda," was published in Annals of Internal Medicine and in On Being a Doctor.
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About JDC
Founded in 1914, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) gives global expression to the principle that all Jews are responsible for one another. Working on behalf of North America's Jewish communities, JDC is dedicated to rescuing those in danger, providing relief to Jews in distress, and revitalizing overseas Jewish communities. JDC is committed to helping Israel's most vulnerable citizens overcome the social challenges they still face through special partnerships and innovation. In the spirit of "healing the world," JDC also offers non-sectarian disaster relief and longer-term development assistance worldwide. More information can be found at www.jdc.org
