Dallas, June 25 --The American Heart Association honored three volunteers Friday with Awards of Meritorious Achievement during its 51st annual Delegate Assembly.
The award, created in 1952, honors volunteers for "specific significant accomplishments or projects that have advanced the association's objectives." Nominations come from throughout the organization.
The 1999 award recipients are:
Coletta Barrett, R.N., vice president of care management for General
Health System in Baton Rouge, La.;
Philip Greenland, M.D., Harry Dingman professor and chairman of the
department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Medical School,
Chicago; and
Rose Marie Robertson, M.D., professor of medicine, associate director of
cardiology, and vice chair for academic affairs at Vanderbilt University Medical
Center, Nashville, Tenn.
Barrett was honored for her "infectious enthusiasm and passion for American Heart Association programs and for being a model volunteer."
An American Heart Association volunteer for almost 20 years, Barrett was involved in a variety of activities and served as chairman of the board of the Louisiana Affiliate in 1994-95 before it merged with other adjoining states to become part of the Southeast Affiliate.
She currently serves on the American Heart Association Board of Directors and chairs the Advocacy Coordinating Committee. She is also a member of the Administrative Cabinet, the Corporate Relations Review Committee and the Public Policy Subcommittee.
Greenland was honored for providing "exceptional leadership in American Heart Association activities to promote the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and stroke."
A member of the association's Science Review and Coordinating Committee, Greenland promoted the concept of prevention and coordinated that push throughout the American Heart Association. He began those efforts in 1992 as a member of the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. He led an association-wide prevention subcommittee that evolved into the Prevention Coordinating Committee, which he chaired from 1996 to 1998.
Robertson, American Heart Association president-elect for 1999-2000, was recognized primarily for leading the Scientific Sessions Program Committee for three years while also making significant contributions in other association programs and activities. The Scientific Sessions Program Committee plans the American Heart Association?s Scientific Sessions, the world's largest meeting concerned with heart disease and stroke.
Robertson is a member of the American Heart Association Board of Directors and chairs the Programs and Projects Budget Review Subcommittee. In addition, she is a member of the Committee of Scientific Councils, the Corporate Operations Coordinating Committee, the Strategic Planning Group and the Bylaws and Policies Task Force.
The American Heart Association spent about $312 million during fiscal year 1997-98 on research support, public and professional education, and community programs. With more than 4 million volunteers, it is the largest voluntary health organization fighting heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, which annually kill more than 959,000 Americans.