Waltham, Mass. – March 17th – Michael P. Hirsh,
M.D., Chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery, Director of Pediatric Trauma Services,
and Surgeon-in-Chief at Children’s Medical Center at UMass Memorial Medical
Center, is being honored by the Massachusetts
Medical Society as the 2017 recipient of the Society’s Men’s Health Award, an
honor recognizing an individual who has advanced the cause of men’s health. Dr. Hirsh will receive the award at the
society’s Men’s Health Symposium on June 15.
In nominating him for the award, his colleagues cited Dr.
Hirsh’s work as a leading advocate for public health, injury prevention, and
child safety.
A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the
American Academy of Pediatrics and board certified in general and pediatric
surgery and critical care, Dr. Hirsh is also a Professor at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School.
Besides his clinical and academic duties, Dr. Hirsh has
served the City of Worcester in a variety of capacities in enhancing public
health and reducing violence. He was Acting Commissioner of the Worcester
Department of Public Health from 2012-2104 and currently is its Medical
Director. From 2008-2010, he was
President of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, and remains a member of its
board. In 2002, he helped to establish
the city’s annual Goods for Guns program, a buyback program that continues to
make city streets safer from gun violence.
Active in the Worcester District Medical Society, Dr. Hirsh served
as its president from 2011-2014 and currently is a member of its Legislative
and Public Health committees and the editorial board of Worcester Medicine, the official publication of the district
society.
The Men’s Health Award is the latest of more than three dozen
honors presented to Dr. Hirsh over the years for his teaching, healthcare, and
community service. He has previously been honored by the Massachusetts Medical
Society with two of its most prestigious awards - the Henry Ingersoll Bowditch
Award for Excellence in Public Health and the Grant V. Rodkey Award for Medical
Student Education. He is the recipient
of the Worcester District Medical Society’s Community Clinician of the Year and
its A. J. Fitzpatrick Community Service Award and the Salvation Army’s Health
Care Hero Award. He is also a 16-time
winner of the Outstanding Medical Educator Award from UMass Medical
School. He resides in Northboro.
The Massachusetts Medical Society, with some 25,000
physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for
the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society, under the auspices
of NEJM Group, publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global
medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering
13 specialties. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education
providing accredited and certified activities across the globe for physicians
and other health care professionals.
Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical
society in the country. For more information please
visit www.massmed.org, www.nejm.org, or www.jwatch.org.
