Lawyers’ Committee Congratulates MGH on Receipt of Prestigious Community Service Award

Lawyers’ Committee Congratulates MGH, Our Medical-Legal Partner, On Receipt of the Foster G. McGaw Community Service Award

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice is proud to announce that the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) — our partner in a medical-legal collaboration — has been awarded the 2015 Foster G. McGaw Community Service Prize. This prestigious award, given by the American Hospital Association, is presented annually to an organization for addressing and significantly improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

MGH received this award in recognition of its significant contribution to the health of families in Chelsea, Revere, and Charlestown, through a number of innovative community-based programs including the Medical-Legal Partnership that MGH and the Lawyers’ Committee jointly staff.

The Medical-Legal Partnership was launched in August 2003. Working with refugee and immigrant families from some 30 different countries, the Medical-Legal Partnership assists patients with their legal needs related to disability benefits, landlord-tenant issues, child support, unemployment compensation, and naturalization. The Lawyers’ Committee collaborates closely with the MGH community health workers and medical providers towards the shared goal of improving the mental and physical well-being of a diverse patient population.

We applaud MGH for this well-deserved recognition. We also take this opportunity to recognize the leadership of Joan Quinlan, who has nurtured the Medical-Legal Partnership since its creation, and Sarah Abernethy Oo, for her leadership as Director of the Community Health Improvement Program at the Chelsea MGH HealthCare Center.