Meet the 2019 Eisenberg Health Policy Grant recipients
The Academy is proud to announce the 2019 Eisenberg Health Policy Grants were awarded to four individuals who embody a commitment to advocacy. Established in 2018, the grants fund four residents to attend the AAO-HNS/F Leadership Forum & BOG Spring Meeting and meetings with legislators on Capitol Hill and local members of Congress.
The Academy is proud to announce the 2019 Eisenberg Health Policy Grants were awarded to four individuals who embody a commitment to advocacy. Established in 2018, the grants fund four residents to attend the AAO-HNS/F Leadership Forum & BOG Spring Meeting and meetings with legislators on Capitol Hill and local members of Congress.
“These grants give residents the opportunity to meet Academy leaders and visit Congress to gain experience in how to present our thoughts on proposed legislation in a concise and positive way. Finally, and most important, is to develop a group of people who are enthusiastic and willing to continue to stay involved with the Academy and strive to become our future leaders.”
The grants are funded by Dr. Eisenberg.
Ghedak Ansari, MD, MPH, MSEd
Resident, Kaiser Permanente, Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery at Oakland, CA
Ghedak Ansari, MD, MPH, MSEd, was a child of the 1991 Iraq Gulf War, a refugee, teacher, congressional intern with former Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, public health student at Johns Hopkins University, and now an otolaryngology resident. She remembers back to her childhood that “my ear infections would start when we were forced to run down to the basement, and I was trapped without a physician or medication, holding my ears in pain until the skies turned blue again.” Dr. Ansari said the Eisenberg grant will help her continue to advocate for access to affordable healthcare and prescription drug coverage.
Hilary Caitlyn McCrary, MD, MPH
Resident, University of Utah School of Medicine, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
Daniel C. O’Brien, MD
Resident, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery
“The cost of healthcare is often shifted to those without insurance, and usually to those least able to pay. As such, we need to bend the cost curve so that it impacts our patients less.”
Kevin J. Contrera, MD, MPH
Resident, Cleveland Clinic Head & Neck Institute