The UVA Medical Alumni Association has announced the following awards for the 2021-2022 academic year:

Maxwell C. Feinman, MD Class of 1954 Community Service Award: Nadine Michel

This award is presented annually to a fourth-year UVA medical student who has performed outstanding community service in the Charlottesville area.

Michel’s activities include serving as a program evaluator and working on community engagement initiatives with the Perkins House Charlottesville and volunteering with The Farm House Charlottesville, including organizing events for residents of the 10th and Page neighborhood. Michel has also been involved in minority student recruitment and retention at the School of Medicine and visited classrooms in Charlottesville to talk to students during Brain Awareness Week, an initiative started by the Neuroscience Graduate Program.

Class of 1967 Joseph F. Smiddy, MD Altruism Award: Jacqueline Carson and Rebecca (Becca) Kowalski (co-recipients)

The Class of 1967 established this award in recognition of the lifelong service of their classmate, Joseph F. Smiddy, MD. The award recognizes a fourth-year medical student(s) at the UVA School of Medicine who has demonstrated selfless service to the medically underserved. Recipients are chosen for displaying reasonable self-sacrifice and generosity in serving others.

Carson and Kowalski have been heavily involved in the outreach efforts under the umbrella of the Community Outreach Clinic at the Haven (“Haven Clinic”) since its establishment in May 2019. Among their contributes are starting an informal volunteer program on Wednesday evenings at one of the city’s overnight shelters to spread awareness of the clinic and assist with financial screening forms, identifying gaps in the healthcare of those served by the clinic and adjusting their efforts accordingly. Most recently, they have focused on a new effort: the inpatient Homelessness Consult Service, a student-run initiative established to connect UVA inpatients experiencing homelessness to the resources in the community, provide continuity of care for patients of the Haven Clinic, and offer recommendations for appropriate discharge with the ultimate goal of reducing length of stay, ED visits, and inpatient readmissions.