2007
Howard H. Hiatt, M.D. 
Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
for improving the performance of personal health services in the United States and around the world

2006
Aaron T. Beck, M.D.
Professor Emeritus
University of Pennsylvania
for developing the theory and practice of cognitive therapy that benefited nearly five million people in the United States and millions worldwide

2005
Robert H. Brook, M.D., Sc.D.
Vice President, RAND Corporation
for his dedication and commitment to improving the effectiveness of health care services and shaping the discourse on health care policy

2004
Kenneth W. Kizer, M.D., M.P.H.
President and CEO, The National Quality Forum
for his transformation of the veterans health care  system to a model system of patient safety, innovation, and quality care

2003
B. Jaye Anno, Ph.D.
and
Bernard P. Harrison, J.D.
Partners, Consultants in Correctional Care
for profound improvements in the public health and humanity of the medical systems for the incarcerated

2002
Kathryn E. Barnard, Ph.D., R.N.
Director, Center for Infant Mental Health
Center for Human Development and Disability University of Washington
for developing evidence-based assessment and parent education protocols that are used worldwide and have revolutionized clinical practice with infants and their parents
and
T. Berry Brazelton, M.D.
President and Chairman
Brazelton Foundation, Inc.
for changing the understanding of infants, children, and child development over the last century, and the development of the Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale

2001
Ruth Watson Lubic, R.N., C.N.M., Ed.D.
President and Co-CEO
The District of Columbia Developing Families Center
for pioneering work in the development of humane and innovative services for childbearing and childrearing families

2000
Philip R. Lee, M.D.
Professor Emeritus
Institute for Health Policy Studies
University of California, San Francisco
for his unequaled contributions to improving personal health services in the United States and abroad as practitioner, advocate, researcher, policymaker, administrator, and public leader

1999
Elma L. Holder, M.S.P.H.
Founding Member, National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
for bringing the needs of an underserved, often neglected and abused nursing home population to high national awareness

1998
H. Jack Geiger, M.D.
Professor Emeritus
City University of New York Medical School
for creating a model of the contemporary American community health center to serve the poor and disadvantaged, and for his contributions to the advancements of minority health

1997
Lester Breslow, M.D., M.P.H.
Dean Emeritus and Professor of Public Health
University of California, Los Angeles
for his contributions to the conceptual development and application of clinical preventive services in personal health care and to the development of personal health risk assessments

1996
Robert N. Butler, M.D.
Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
and
T. Franklin Williams, M.D.
Professor of Medicine, Emeritus
University of Rochester School of Medicine
for their contributions to the fields of geriatrics and gerontology

1995
Lawrence L. Weed, M.D.
Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont
for developing the problem-oriented medical record

1994
Byllye Y. Avery
Founder, National Black Women’s Health Project
for her pioneering effort to improve health care services for women
 
1993
David E. Rogers, M.D.
Walsh McDermott University Professor of Medicine
Cornell University Medical College
for leadership in advancing personal health care services

1992
C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D.
McInerney Professor of Surgery
Dartmouth Medical School
and
Faye G. Abdellah, Ed.D., Sc.D., R.N.
Chair, Nursing Task Force
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
for leadership in promoting health in the public arena

1991
Robert M. Ball, M.A.
Visiting Scholar, National Academy of Social Insurance
for his contribution in establishing Medicare as part of the social security system

1990
Henry K. Silver, M.D.
Associate Dean for Student Admissions
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
and
Loretta C. Ford, Ed.D., R.N.
Professor and Dean Emerita
School of Nursing, University of Rochester
for fostering the concept of the nurse practitioner

1989
Robert J. Haggerty, M.D.
President, William T. Grant Foundation
for carrying the concept of neighborhood health centers into the practice of “family medicine” as an indispensable aspect of primary care

1988
Marie-Louis Ansak
Executive Director
On Lok Senior Health Services
for pioneering work in nonprofit comprehensive care, as founder of On Lok Senior Health Services, a day-care center for the frail elderly

1987
Ernest W. Saward, M.D.
Professor of Social Medicine, Emeritus
University of Rochester Medical Center
for his leadership in the establishment of prepaid group health plans

1986
Julius B. Richmond, M.D.
Professor of Health Policy, Emeritus
Harvard University
for his role as architect of federal programs for Head Start and Neighborhood Health Centers in the 1960s and 1970s