Perspective: Going for the Gold

The world is watching as the best athletes of our time compete for gold in the Winter Olympics in South Korea. It’s inspiring to hear the personal stories of America’s athletes and watch them pursue their dreams.
 

Every day, Olympic-sized talent, dedication and drive are on display at hospitals and health systems across America. Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, the 2017 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service recipient, is a prime example of this drive. 

Working with its community, Yale New Haven Hospital’s programs nurture healthy kids and support families. They prepare students for careers in health care and other fields. Working with Habitat for Humanity and other groups, they are revitalizing their neighborhoods. And they provide care to the region’s homeless and to local shelter residents. 

The AHA, along with the Baxter International Foundation, is proud to sponsor the Foster McGaw Prize, and we’re currently accepting applications for 2018. Any health care organization—large or small, rural or urban—can win.

As we continue to watch the Olympics, let’s also remember the more than 5 million dedicated women and men working in more than 5,000 hospitals in every state and community across America, who are doing what they do so well … caring, healing and helping.