The Urgent Care Association (UCA) has announced the recipients of the 2020 Urgent Care Foundation Awards, which recognize professionals and organizations leading the way in advancing the on-demand care industry forward. The recipients will be celebrated at the annual awards dinner during the UCA2020 Urgent Care Convention & Expo on May 4, 2020, at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

In addition to its existing annual awards, the event will introduce the Becky Burress Unsung Heroes Award, which was created to honor the life, service and passion of the late Becky Burress. Burress will be the inaugural recipient of the award, presented posthumously. She was the first paid employee of UCA and most recently the administrative director for the North East Regional Urgent Care Association (NERUCA) before her death in July of this year.

“Becky Burress was a dedicated and beloved leader for the urgent care industry,” said Laurel Stoimenoff, CEO of UCA. “She was always the first person to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of others. The award will be a permanent tribute to her career contributions and the essential efforts of so many dedicated professionals in our industry.”

The 2020 Urgent Care Foundation Award recipients include:

• Humanitarian Award – Lynda Gerberg, MD, lead pediatrician for Cohen Children’s Northwell Health-GoHealth Pediatric Urgent Care in Queens, N.Y., will receive this award, which recognizes significant medical volunteer work that has a positive impact on a national or international cause or event. Dr. Gerberg formed the medical relief group Love4 to provide healthcare support and supplies to communities devastated by hurricanes, including those in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.

•  Lifetime Membership Award – Two active members will receive lifetime memberships in UCA for their significant contributions. Pam Sullivan, MD, MBA, FACP, PT, past UCA president and current chief clinical officer at Landmark Health in Honeoye Falls, N.Y., has made it her mission to provide quality healthcare to all patients through an integrated system that values the convenience, accessibility and affordability of urgent care. Eric McDonald, co-founder and CEO of DocuTap in Sioux Falls, S.D., demonstrates his commitment to patients and providers by staying ahead of healthcare technology trends and developing solutions to increase efficiency and collaboration.

•  Outstanding Achievement Award – David Stern, MD, CEO of Experity, one of the founding members of UCA and an active member of the Urgent Care Foundation Board from Belvidere, Ill., will be rewarded for his impact on the industry. Dr. Stern created an urgent care-specific electronic medical records (EMR) and practice management software company, Practice Velocity, which recently merged with DocuTAP to join forces and improve technologies available to urgent care providers.

•  Quality and Safety Awards – Two individuals will be recognized for their significant efforts to improve quality and safety in urgent care medicine. Frank Illuzzi, MD, CPE, FACEP, chief medical officer of CityMD in New York City, is an active member of the UCA Antibiotic Stewardship Committee and chair of the 2020 UCA Clinical Consortium Committee which convenes an annual two-day meeting of top urgent care executives and public health organizations to address some of the most important issues affecting the industry. Dr. Illuzzi is also an active member of the UCA Antibiotic Stewardship Committee, has contributed to the Urgent Care Foundation’s Diabetes Screening research study and helped create the Urgent Care Fellowship program. Amanda Montalbano, MD, MPH from Independence, Mo., established the largest database on pediatric urgent care centers across the nation, Organization for Urgent Care Health (OUCH), and led the first-ever nationwide collaborative quality improvement project on antibiotic stewardship within pediatric urgent care.

“The Foundation Celebration shines a spotlight on those who help shape our ever-changing industry,” said Dr. Richard Park, UCA board president, founder and CEO of CityMD. “The event not only acknowledges all the hard work of those nominated, but inspires others to push their teams to reach new levels of excellence.”

For more information on the 2020 Urgent Care Foundation Awards and the Foundation Celebration event, please visit ucaoa.org/Celebration.