Physician Appreciation Awards

Each year, the Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation hosts the Physician Appreciation Dinner in celebration of physicians who have made significant contributions to the Presbyterian community This year's awards dinner was held Saturday, June 3rd. The 2017 honorees were:

• Radiology Associates of Albuquerque, P.A., who received the Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation's Physician Philanthropy Award
• The Presbyterian Stroke Team, who received the Sarah Kotchian Clinical Quality Award
• Dr. Angela Gallegos-Macias, who received the Presbyterian Rising Star Award
• Dr. Jennifer Culver, who received the Presbyterian Reverend Hugh A. Cooper Award

In 1903, the Reverend Hugh A. Cooper and his wife, Delia, moved to Albuquerque with hopes of curing his tuberculosis. Word had spread around the country that the arid New Mexico climate provided an optimal environment for healing the “White Plague."

Shortly after his recovery, in 1904, Reverend Cooper became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church and in 1908 founded the Southwestern Presbyterian Sanatorium, a facility whose sole purpose was to care for the hundreds of tuberculosis patients flocking to the city.

As healthcare needs grew, the 'San', as it was fondly called, met the challenge, transforming itself over the years until it became what it is today: Presbyterian Healthcare Services, a locally owned, not-for-profit healthcare system of eight hospitals, a medical group and health plan. Founded in 1908, it is the state's second-largest private employer with more than 11,000 employees dedicated to improving the health of the patients, members and communities we serve.

Following in the footsteps of Reverend Cooper, the Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation collaborates with the Presbyterian community to identify the areas of greatest need – and opportunity. In addition to helping expand primary and specialty care throughout the state, the Foundation sponsors events such as the Physician Appreciation Dinner to recognize the outstanding work our physicians and staff do throughout the year.