Melissa Stark, television host and anchor, hosted the 33rd Annual FREDDIE Awards, MediMedia’s black-tie gala honoring the best in the year’s health and medical productions, it was announced today. Known as the “Oscars of Health and Medicine,” the 2007 ceremony was held at Philadelphia’s elegant Crystal Tea Room.
In addition to the 31 awards bestowed for excellence in a variety of categories, The FREDDIE Awards presented their prestigious 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award, the organization’s highest honor to Bob and Leila Macauley, Founders of AmeriCares. The 2007 Special Awards for Public Service were presented to Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., M.D. for his global leadership in cancer research and treatment, Dan and Claire Marino and the Dan Marino Foundation for their long-term efforts to support the challenges of Autism, and the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation for their years of support to the visually impaired.
“These honorees have made an immeasurable contribution to the field of health and medical productions and, perhaps more importantly, to the personal lives of countless individuals,” said Steve Simcox, CEO, MediMedia, USA. “Our hope is that this spotlight placed on their work will further increase contributions to support their efforts in the health and medical communities.”
“The mission of the FREDDIE Awards is to provide encouragement and acknowledgment to the producers of health and medical electronic media. We are proud to share their accomplishments with a world that will benefit greatly from the knowledge they provide,” said Donna Hill Howes, Executive Producer of the FREDDIE Awards.
The 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award and Special Award Recipients joined the luminous ranks of past winners including, Bill and Melinda Gates, Christopher Reeve, Marlo Thomas, Jerry Lewis, Jack LaLanne, Mary Tyler Moore, Doctors Without Borders, Jonas Salk, M.D., Senators John Glenn, Bob and Elizabeth Dole, and basketball legend Magic Johnson, to name a few.
About: AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a nonprofit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization founded by Bob and Leila Macauley, providing immediate response to emergency medical needs, as well as supporting long-term humanitarian assistance programs for all people around the world, irrespective of race, creed or political persuasion. AmeriCares solicits donations of medicines, medical supplies and other relief materials from U.S. and international manufacturers, and delivers them quickly and efficiently to healthcare and welfare professionals around the world. To accomplish these results, AmeriCares assembles product donations from the private sector, determines the most urgent needs and solicits the funding to send the aid via airlift or ocean cargo to health and welfare professionals on the ground. AmeriCares works with international and local non-governmental organizations, hospitals, health networks and government ministries. Historically, each $100 in cash contribution enables AmeriCares to deliver more than $3,000 in emergency relief, including medicines, medical supplies and nutritional supplements.
About: Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., M.D.
Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., M.D., has improved the lives of countless people around the globe through his outstanding contributions to cancer research and treatment. He is Chairman of the Yale Cancer Center Advisory Board and Professor of Internal Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. DeVita is the first appointee to the post of “The Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine” at Yale University. Dr. DeVita was appointed by the President of the United States as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Cancer Program. Along with colleagues at the NCI, Dr. DeVita was instrumental in developing combination chemotherapy programs which led to the curative chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease and diffuse large-cell lymphomas. These experiments were paramount in proving that drugs could cure advanced cancer. Dr. DeVita is one of the three editors of Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology, the most popular cancer textbook in the world.
About: Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation
Charles and Roberta Kaman’s intuitive knowledge of how German shepherd guide dogs could help people with visual disabilities live more normal lives was the genesis of the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation. Beginning in 1960, the work done by the Kamans and an ever-growing group of dedicated and tireless staff, volunteers and supporters, has reached out and touched thousands of clients’ and family members lives. Today, Fidelco is an accredited member of the International Guide Dog Federation and a recognized leader in the guide dog industry. The non-profit organization places superbly trained German shepherds throughout the U.S. and Canada, and its clients run the gamut from business people to college students. Fidelco has a national focus but every placement is local. Their instructor-trainers travel to their clients’ homes and places of work to help them take the first important step toward freedom and independence. Fidelco pioneered this “In-community Placement” process in the U.S.
About: The Dan Marino Foundation
Motivated by experiences in raising their second son, Michael, who has autism, Dan and Claire Marino created the Dan Marino Foundation in 1992. The Marinos realized the need for comprehensive and integrated treatment programs for children with developmental disabilities and chronic medical problems. In 1998, the Marinos, along with Miami Children’s Hospital, built the Dan Marino Center in Weston, Florida, a free-standing pediatric subspecialty center providing the most comprehensive and integrated diagnostics and treatments for children with developmental disabilities, autism, and chronic medical problems. The Center serves more than 25,000 children annually. The Marinos understand that not all individuals with autism and their families have access to services. In 2004, the Foundation launched Childnett.tv, a 24-hour free web TV channel that is dedicated to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders and showcases personal stories, therapies, and the latest medical breakthroughs. In 2006, the Marinos introduced the Marino Autism Research Institute (MARI). MARI is a “Virtual Institute” designed to sponsor cross-university collaborative research in understanding, treating and preventing autism. As the Marino family has matured — Michael is now in college studying Communications — so has Dan and Claire’s vision for the Foundation. Once young adults with special needs graduate from high school, their options become alarmingly narrow. The Foundation is now engaged in supporting training and employment programs for teens and young adults with special needs.
About: Melissa Stark
This year’s host, Melissa Stark, has served as the TODAY SHOW National Correspondent since 2003. Melissa has also served as host on WEEKEND TODAY and anchor on MSNBC. Melissa Stark is well known for her three years as sideline reporter for MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, including Super Bowl XXXVI. While at ABC, Melissa also covered celebrity golf events, figure skating, and appeared as a guest co-host on THE VIEW.
About: The FREDDIES
Thirty-three years ago, FREDDIE’s Founder Dr. Fredrick Gottlieb brought the worlds of medical science, education and the arts together in what has become the preeminent international media competition devoted to educational health and medical productions. Each year, the competition attracts hundreds of submissions from around the world–documentaries, series, shorts, videos, web sites, and CD-ROMs–in 31 categories. These include Oncology, Diabetes, Fitness/Wellness, Infectious Disease, Prevention, and Women’s Health. All of the submitted media aim to help people live healthier, longer lives. They provide answers for consumers as well as health professionals, and raise important questions, too. The stories they tell are courageous and inspirational, often documenting the lives of those who have overcome tremendous medical struggles and those who have helped them to do so. Go to www.thefreddies.com for more information.
About: 2007 FREDDIE Award winners by category
ADOLESCENT HEALTH
Real Talk: Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia
MEE Productions, Inc., Philadelphia, PA
ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS
Why Planetree?
Planetree, Derby, CT
ALLERGIES & ASTHMA
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: The Air We Breathe
Home Box Office, Santa Monica, CA
BASIC & CLINICAL SCIENCE
Laser in Dentistry
Quintessenz.tv, Berlin, Germany
BEHAVIORAL DISEASES
Addiction
Home Box Office, Santa Monica, CA
CAREGIVING
Alzheimer’s Disease: Helping Yourself Help a Loved One
Alliance for Aging Research, Washington, DC
CHILDREN’S HEALTH
Reading and the Brain
WETA–Reading Rockets, Arlington, VA
COMMUNICATIONS
Iraq: Front Line ER
Discovery Health Media Enterprises, Silver Spring, MD
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Prometheus Bound: The Epidemic of Hepatitis C
Banyan Communications, St. Charles, MO
COPING
Moving OnTM: Tools for Breast Cancer Survivors
HealthMark Multimedia, Washington, DC
DIABETES
GYST: Life Guide for Young People on the Move
The Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Action Hero Makeover
Mozark Productions, Studio City, CA
HEALTH EDUCATION
Max & Buddy the Bear in “The Bear Facts About CT Scans”
Florida Hospital Celebration Health, Celebration, FL
HEALTH SERIES
Mystery Diagnosis
Discovery Health Media Enterprises, Silver Spring, MD
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
www.poz.com
Smart + Strong, New York, NY
INFLAMMATORY DISEASES
True Guts
Dream Realization Media, Boston, MA
ISSUES & ETHICS
Scope of Practice
Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, CA
MEN’S HEALTH
Hormone Therapy: When the PSA Rises After Prostate Cancer Treatment
Health Dialog, Boston, MA
NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
Epilepsy Defined
Information Television Network, Boca Raton, FL
NUTRITION & DIET
Small Steps to a Healthier America
McCann Erickson, New York, NY
ONCOLOGY
Reflections on Psalm 23 for People with Cancer
Vision Video, Inc., Worcester, PA
PATIENT CARE
Influenza
Medfilms, Inc., Tucson, AZ
PREVENTION
A Little More Time…What’s It Worth to You?
Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Glendale, CA
PSYCHIATRY
Surviving Trauma & Tragedy
Michigan Victim Alliance, East Lansing, MI
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Appointment
HealthMedia, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI
SENIOR HEALTH
The Art of Aging
Aquarius Health Care Media, Sherborn, MA
SPECIAL PEOPLE
The Boy Inside
Fanlight Productions, Boston, MA
STROKE & HEART DISEASE
A.D.A.M. Specialty Centers: Stroke and Heart Disease
A.D.A.M., Inc., Atlanta, GA
SURGERY
AO Surgery Reference
AO Foundation, Davos, Switzerland
WEB SITES
ChefMD.com
Marx Creative, Glendale, WI
WOMEN’S HEALTH
The Promise and Power
Hurd Studios, New York, NY
About MediMedia
MediMedia offers some of the best-known brands in healthcare communications to both industry professionals and patients. In addition to its leading consumer health content sources, MediMedia is the preeminent provider of solutions for pharmaceutical companies along their entire marketing continuum, targeting physicians, payers and patients with our content and applications. The company’s attention to content quality, accuracy and ease of comprehension, as well as its experience in delivering specialized information to targeted audiences, has earned the trust and respect of healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical companies, physicians, employers and consumers throughout the country. For more information about MediMedia USA, please visit www.medimedia.com.
For more information about THE FREDDIES, please contact 650-244-4553
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