ACR Foundation Presents Global Humanitarian Awards

WASHINGTON, DC  — The American College of Radiology^® Foundation (ACRF) presented both its 2020 and 2021 Global Humanitarian Awards honoring individuals who have had a positive global impact on radiology services, at the ACR 2021 virtual meeting, held May 15–19.

The 2021 awards went to Faisal Khosa, MBBS, of Vancouver, BC, in the Individual radiologist category, and Herman Oosterwijk, MS, MBA, of Cross Roads, TX, and Norman Young, of Toronto, ON, in the non-radiologist individual category.

The ACR^® also announced the winners of the 2020 Global Humanitarian Awards — postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 awards went to Lawrence R. Kane, MD, of Newmarket, NH, and Sarwat Hussain, MD, of Worcester, MA, in the Individual radiologist category.

“The 2021 and 2020 ACR Foundation Global Humanitarian Award recipients exemplify how radiologists, allied professionals, nonprofits and likeminded businesses can work together to improve radiologic care and save lives in underserved and low- to middle-income (LMIC) countries,” said James V. Rawson, MD, FACR, chair of the ACR Foundation Executive Committee. “By recognizing these volunteer efforts, the ACR Foundation hopes to encourage others to become involved in similar initiatives worldwide,” he added.

2021 Awardees

For more than two decades, Dr. Khosa, has collected funds to support the provision of X-ray, mammography and ultrasound equipment to healthcare institutions in LMIC countries, including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He spearheads the Radiology Track of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM). Dr. Khosa has coached, mentored and sponsored hundreds of students, residents and fellows from around the world. He previously received the Honor of State of Pakistan in 2013 and the Association of Faculties of Medicine in Canada May Cohen Equity Diversity & Gender Award in 2020.

Over the last 16 years, Mr. Oosterwijk has led teams to multiple countries in support of Rotary Club health improvement efforts. He led Rotary teams to Nicaragua to provide medical equipment and supplies. Oosterwijk taught PACS bootcamps to radiology support professionals in three continents through RAD-AID International. He has traveled to Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshe, TZ, several times to install and assess the PACS system and train support staff. Oosterwijk has also assisted with the Rotary-funded PACS Systems installation at Zinga Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in East Tanzania.

Norman Young is the former Chief Executive Officer of ClearCanvas, a PACS and medical imaging software company, which he founded to provide low-cost software to underserved communities. The open source system built by his team enabled many hospital facilities to acquire the software at no cost and customize PACS systems to meet individual needs. More than 75,000 copies of ClearCanvas have been registered and distributed to at least 75 countries. Availability of this software may be one of the most important developments in the expansion of digital medical imaging throughout the world.

2020 Awardees

For more than 31 years, Dr. Kane has participated in the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), serving more than 225,000 people in Jeremie, Haiti. He purchased portable sonography machines for HHF inpatient care for women with high-risk pregnancy, and for use in satellite clinics in 104 villages under the HHF umbrella. He travels to Haiti at least annually to train local physicians in diagnosis of radiographs and sonography. Dr. Kane also financed 50% of the construction costs of a K-9 grade school, which educates 1,000 of the poorest children in Jeremie.

For 45 years, Dr. Hussain has served as a radiologist in Pakistan, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Liberia, Iraq and the USA. In 2017, he took a year sabbatical from the University of Massachusetts to become the founding Chief Medical Officer and Chief Radiologist at the Imam Al Hujjah Charity Hospital near Baghdad, Iraq. In 2018, Dr. Hussain established the Global Institute of Healthcare Quality in Pakistan. He was a founding member of Imamia Medics International, a volunteer organization with projects in over a dozen countries. Dr. Hussain also launched the peer-reviewed Journal of Global Radiology, an online publication to catalogue relevant research in radiology in LMIC countries.

The ACR Foundation Global Humanitarian Award recognizes outstanding individuals, organizations and programs working to improve access to quality radiological services in low- and middle-income LMIC countries. The award will be expanding its scope in 2021–2022 to include low radiology access areas in more developed countries.

Visit the ACR Foundation International Outreach Program to learn more about this lifesaving effort.

To speak with an ACR Foundation representative, contact Shawn Farley at 703-648-8936 or PR@acr.org.

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About the American College of Radiology Foundation
The mission of the ACR Foundation (ACRF) is to promote radiology by soliciting, accepting and managing resources to advance the strategic initiatives of the American College of Radiology (ACR).

About the American College of Radiology
The American College of Radiology (ACR) is a professional medical society dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology professionals to advance the practice, science and professions of radiological care.