Lifetime Achievement Awards

Dr. C. Everett Koop graduated from Dartmouth College in 1937 and received his MD degree from Cornell Medical College in 1941.  After serving an internship at the Pennsylvania Hospital, he pursued postgraduate training at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital and the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Science (Medicine) in 1947.  After promotions up the academic ladder, he was named Professor of Pediatric Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania in 1959 and Professor of Pediatrics in 1971.  He is presently the Elizabeth DeCamp McInerny Professor of Surgery at Dartmouth Medical School.

A pediatric surgeon with an international reputation, Dr. Koop became Surgeon-in-Chief of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1948 and served in that capacity until he left academia in 1981.  He was the founding Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Pediatric surgery and served in that capacity for 11 years.

Dr. Koop was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) in March 1981, and sworn in as Surgeon General on November 17, 1981.  Additionally, he was appointed Director of the Office of International Health in May 1982.  As Surgeon General, Dr. Koop oversaw the activities of the 6,000 member PHS Commissioned Corps and advised the public on health matters such as smoking and health, diet and nutrition, environmental health hazards, and the importance of immunization and disease prevention.  He also became the government’s chief spokesperson on AIDS.  After two four-year terms as Surgeon General, he continues to educate the public about health issues through his writings, the electronic media, and as Senior Scholar of the C. Everett Koop Institute at Dartmouth.

In May 1983, Dr. Koop was awarded the Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal in recognition of his extraordinary leadership of the U.S. Public Health Service.  After his retirement, he was presented with the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medal and the Surgeon General’s Medallion.  In September 1995, Dr. Koop was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Dr. Merle McPherson received her medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan and an MPH from Johns Hopkins University.  She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Preventive Medicine and an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A national and international leader in the development of comprehensive, community-based service systems for children with special health care needs, Merle McPherson recently retired from a long and distinguished federal career.  Dr. McPherson retired from the position of director of the Division of Services for Children with Special Health Care Needs (DSCSHN), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a position she held since 1987.  Prior to her director post, Dr. McPherson was chief of HRSA’s Habilitative Branch from 1979-87, acting director for MCHB from 1985-86, and MCHB medical officer from 1977-79.  Additionally, Dr. McPherson has held leadership positions in developmental disabilities and children’s health with the Departments of Health and Human Resources in Washington, DC as well as the Hawaii and Maryland Departments of Health.  

While serving as the director of DSCSHN, Dr. McPherson was awarded the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive, the highest award a federal senior executive can receive. 
Dr. McPherson was recognized for her pioneering work in establishing the “medical home” – a collaboration among primary care providers, specialists, and children and youth with special health care needs and their families to ensure access to culturally competent, family-centered and comprehensive health care.  Medical home has dramatically improved systems of care for children and youth with chronic illness and disabilities.

Dr. McPherson also led the effort to develop a comprehensive and nationally accepted definition of children with special health needs.  Under her command, her office embarked on a 10-year action plan on improving services for children and youth with special health care needs to help them live happy and productive lives.  

Dr McPherson's Response (Word document) 

One of the foremost authorities on telecommunications policy today, Thomas J. Tauke is Executive Vice President - Public Affairs, Policy and Communications of Verizon, a position he has held since May 2004. In this role, Mr. Tauke oversees all internal and external communications, reputation management, philanthropy and issues management for Verizon, and serves as a member of the Corporate Leadership Council. Mr. Tauke also leads Verizon’s External Affairs organization and manages community relations and relationships with national advocacy organizations and consumer groups.

Before joining NYNEX in 1991, Mr. Tauke was a Member of Congress, representing Iowa’s Second Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from January 1979 to January 1991. During his congressional service he was a member of the Telecommunications Subcommittee. He also served on the Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor and Small Business Committees, as well as the Select Committee on Aging. He served on the Pepper Commission on Comprehensive Health Care, the Infant Mortality Commission and the Biomedical Ethics Board.

During his time as a Congressman, Mr. Tauke helped make possible what are now commonly known across the country as Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waivers.  Mr. Tauke responded to a plea from a constituent, Julie Beckett, who wanted to bring her daughter, Katie, home from the hospital.  Medical costs related to Katie’s care had exceeded her family’s policy.  Medicaid kicked in but would not permit Katie to leave the hospital and continue to receive care without filing a complicated Medicaid document called “exception to policy.”  Congressman Tauke turned to the White House for help after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) denied the Beckett’s request for an exception. As a result, President Reagan and Vice President Bush agreed with Katie’s physicians and her family that it made sense for Katie to come home and ordered HHS to find a way to resolve this issue. 

Tauke served as a member of the Iowa General Assembly from January 1975 to January 1979.  Mr. Tauke received a bachelor of arts degree from Loras College in 1972 and a juris doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1974.