2022 Association of Clinicians for the Underserved Conference - Resilience and Transformation in Care Logo

Join Us in Honoring Excellence in Care and Advocacy for Underserved Populations at Our Conference

The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved is honored to represent clinicians and advocates working to improve health equity for underserved populations, and we will recognize leading individuals and organizations in our field with awards at our 2022 Conference, “Resilience & Transformation in Care,” taking place on July 31-August 2 in Washington, D.C., and online.

Learn more about each winner of our health equity awards below, and please join us at #ACUConf to learn and network with clinicians, administrators, and advocates from across the U.S. who are united in working to eliminate health disparities in underserved populations.

Dr. Adrian Billings, MD, PhD, FAAFP
Clinician of the Year Award

This award recognizes a clinician committed to improving the health of under-resourced communities through compassion and excellence in healthcare delivery. ACU is proud to honor Dr. Adrian Billings, Chief Medical Officer at Preventative Care Health Services and an National Health Service Corps alumnus and three-year Advisory Council Member, for his dedication to binational health issues, commitment to clinical excellence, championship of the NHSC, and decades of caring for under-served patients and mentoring the next generation of clinicians.

Kyle McDaniel
Health Professional in Training Award

This award recognizes a student going above and beyond to provide care to under-resourced populations. ACU congratulates Kyle McDaniel, a medical student at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, as this year’s winner. Planning to pursue a career in family and community medicine, McDaniel helped distribute personal protective equipment and vaccines to the South Plains of Texas during the pandemic and coordinated medical student involvement in health fairs across the city of Lubbock.

Beth Wrobel
Marc Wetherhorn Advocate of the Year Award

This award honors an individual helping to improve policies and systems impacting the health of marginalized populations. ACU proudly recognizes Beth Wrobel, CEO of HealthLinc, for her advocacy for health centers across the U.S., and the millions of patients they serve. Wrobel transitioned HealthLinc from a free medical clinic to an FQHC providing integrated care, and her voice, passion, wisdom, and determination in health center advocacy has not only helped to give under-resourced patients a voice, but also improved their access to care.

Senator Jon Ossoff
Congressional Champion Award

This award recognizes a member of Congress who serves as a champion for increased access to care, improvements to healthcare delivery, and support for the healthcare workforce. ACU is proud to honor Jon Ossoff, senior U.S. Senator from Georgia, for leading a powerful bipartisan effort to help alleviate health workforce shortages in underserved areas, particularly  through his recent circulation of a Dear Colleague letter to support continued, robust funding for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Nurse Corps in  the years to come.

Caridad Center
Organizational Excellence Award

This award recognizes organizations implementing innovative and effective strategies to improve healthcare in underserved communities by sustaining a skilled workforce and collaborating to increase access to services and improve patient outcomes. Caridad Center is the largest free healthcare clinic in Florida and one of the largest in the country. ACU is proud to recognize Caridad with this award for its commitment to providing medical, vision, and dental care to uninsured and under-resourced children and families in Palm Beach County, Florida. Their more than 600 volunteers provide care to 4,500 people annually and help address inequity, food insecurity, social determinants of health, housing, and more.

People’s Health Clinic
Organizational Excellence Award

The recipient of our second Organizational Excellence Award, People’s Health Clinic is recognized for its commitment to providing quality, no-cost healthcare to uninsured patients in Summit and Wasatch Counties in Utah. This community clinic provides quality, comprehensive healthcare for under-resourced communities in collaboration with community partners and advocates. In 2021 alone, the organization had 13,100 patient visits with under-resourced patients, 66% of whom earned less than the federal poverty level.