HOPE Awards honor excellence in outreach throughout the state

The West Virginia University School of Medicine honored Hope Award recipients on Jan. 15.

Various faculty members within the WVU School of Medicine received the HOPE Awards. The awards, given by the School of Medicine Outreach Committee, focus on the development or expansion of clinical outreach throughout West Virginia. The purpose of the awards is to continue to foster ongoing outreach in an effort to better benefit rural communities.

HOPE Award applicants were required to submit a proposal which had an emphasis on potential growth within outreach communities. Proposals were then reviewed and approved by the School of Medicine Outreach Committee.

The award recipients were broken into two separate groups. Recipients from the Eastern Division were Mark Cucuzella, M.D., Brian Shields, Ph.D., and Jean Someshwar, M.D. The other group of recipients were Scott Findley, M.D., Rondalyn Whitney, Ph.D., OTR/L, Laura Davisson, M.D., Charles Moore, M.D., and Amit Ladani, M.D., from Morgantown Campus.

“Anything we can do to support people who really want to do some good is important,” said Bill Ramsey, associate vice president for Coordination and Logistics and Chief Collaboration Officer. “Efforts such as these Hope awards can often make a big difference in communities who need them.”

The School of Medicine plans to have another request for proposals in the future.