AMA Foundation to honor Fort Worth doctor Kent Brantly

Dr. Kent Brantly

Dr. Kent Brantly, the Fort Worth physician who overcame Ebola Virus Disease and helped others recover from it, has been named the recipient of an American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation 2015 Excellence in Medicine Award.

Each year, the AMA Foundation program recognizes a select group of physicians who exemplify the medical profession’s highest values: leadership, community service and dedication to treating underserved patients.

The 2015 award recipients will be honored during the AMA Foundation Donor Reception on June 5, in Chicago, in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

Brantly will receive the Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine, which honors a physician for outstanding international service in the areas of medical practice, medical education or medical research. A $2,500 grant will be presented to Samaritan’s Purse.

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Brantly worked as a medical missionary at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, from October 2013 to August 2014. That summer, Brantly joined the front lines of the battle against the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history when Samaritan’s Purse took responsibility for clinical care of all Liberian Ebola patients.

Brantly was appointed medical director for the only Ebola treatment unit in southern Liberia. On July 26, 2014, he was diagnosed with Ebola Virus Disease and several days later received the first dose of the experimental drug Zmapp before he became the first American evacuated for treatment in the United States at Emory University Hospital. He donated plasma to help others recover from Ebola, including Dallas nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, fellow ELWA Hospital physician and SIM missionary Dr. Rick Sacra, and cameraman Ashoka Mukpo.

Made possible in part by lead sponsor PhRMA and with additional support from Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Pfizer Inc., the Excellence in Medicine Awards program will also honor 15 medical students, residents, fellows and early career physicians through the Leadership Awards program.

Betty Dillard

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bdillard@bizpress.net