AMA Honors Public Servants for Contributions to Mental Health
Abstract
Each year the AMA recognizes figures in government service who have dedicated themselves to the advancement of public health.
The AMA presented its prestigious Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service in February to two individuals for their strong advocacy and outstanding accomplishments in the area of health and mental health.
They are Nancy Backus, mayor of Auburn, Wash., and Josh Shapiro, J.D., attorney general of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Since her election in 2014, Backus has led several programs focused on reducing homelessness and drug addiction in Auburn, convening task forces and serving on related boards to address the associated problems.
“A fearless leader who has tackled head-on the challenges that too many elected officials avoid, Mayor Backus has made a name for herself advocating for the underserved and marginalized,” said AMA Board Chair Gerald E. Harmon, M.D., in a press release.
In 2016 Backus formed the Blue Ribbon Committee for Auburn, with the goal of making Auburn the healthiest city in her state by 2020. The committee’s accomplishments included Real Emergency Aid Depends on You (R.E.A.D.Y.), a one-hour course designed to increase awareness about common mental health issues, remove the fear and stigma surrounding mental illness, and teach basic skills that can used to handle a mental health crisis.
Other areas in which she has been active include women’s rights, the opioid crisis, and improving access to care.
Shapiro has concentrated on the opioid crisis in Montgomery County, Pa. In addition to working with law enforcement agencies, he has taken a public health approach to Pennsylvania’s opioid epidemic. He is collaborating with medical experts to reduce unnecessary prescriptions and is at the forefront of a coalition of 39 attorneys general to urge Congress to pass the Road to Recovery Act, whose goal is to make treatment for substance use more affordable and accessible.
“During the past 20 years of his career in public service, Attorney General Shapiro has developed a strong rapport with physicians in Montgomery County and leveraged those relationships to address one of the largest public health crises of our time,” said Harmon in a press release.
The Dr. Nathan Davis Award, named for the founding father of the AMA, recognizes elected and career officials in federal, state, or municipal service whose outstanding contributions have promoted the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. ■
