Clinical excellence took the spotlight on Dec. 18, when physicians and care teams from across the Johns Hopkins Health System were recognized for their compassionate and innovative patient care at a ceremony for the Johns Hopkins Medicine Clinical Awards for Physicians and Care Teams.

Contributions from the winning clinicians include care for people with substance use disorder, an innovation that helps clinicians identify sepsis earlier, and a program that delivers fresh produce to patients with food insecurity.

“You truly are what makes Johns Hopkins great and we thank you for it,” said Jonathan Efron, senior vice president at the Office of Johns Hopkins Physicians, which launched the annual awards program in 2015.

The Physician of the Year award has been renamed the William Baumgartner, M.D., Physician of the Year award in honor of Baumgartner, who led the office for many years and retired in 2018.  

“Bill is a very special person who both promoted and practiced clinical excellence,” said Landon King, executive vice dean for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “His exceptional warmth and compassion always put patients and colleagues at ease.”

More than 375 nominations from the six Johns Hopkins hospitals and Johns Hopkins Community Physicians were reviewed. Of those, 43 winners were chosen, with each entity selecting recipients in all six categories:  

• William Baumgartner, M.D., Physician of the Year: Physicians who consistently achieve high standards in the practice of medicine and whom peers consider role models.
• Armstrong Award for Excellence in Quality and Safety: Physicians who partner with patients, families, colleagues and staff members to optimize patient outcomes and eliminate preventable harm.
• Excellence in Service and Professionalism: Physicians who actively promote a culture that embraces, expects and rewards delivery of patient- and family-centered care.
• Best Consulting Physician: Physicians who provide superior consulting or specialized services.
• Innovations in Clinical Care: Physicians, nurses and/or teams that demonstrate a visionary approach to problem solving and performance improvement.
• Clinical Collaboration and Teamwork: Teams that engage colleagues in shared decision-making, fostering cooperation and open communication.

Read more about and see videos of this year’s winners of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Clinical Awards for Physicians and Care Teams. 

See a video of the award ceremony.