Amazon's Dr. Vin Gupta to be honored as a Hero in Health Care

VNA Care, Massachusetts’ largest independent nonprofit home- and community-based health care organization providing 385,000 patient visits each year, will hold its highly anticipated annual celebration, Heroes in Health Care, on Nov. 2 at the Mandarin Oriental, Boston.

This year’s Heroes Award recipients are:

Dr. Vin Gupta, MD, MPA, Chief Medical Officer for Amazon Pharmacy & New Initiatives, Affiliate Assistant Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at IHME, and medical analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, will be recognized for his worldwide work to improve public health and his commitment to promoting evidence-based perspectives in the national media on critical health issues.

Nancy E. Oriol, MD, Co-founder of The Family Van and Faculty Associate Dean for Community Engagement at Harvard Medical School, will be honored for starting a groundbreaking movement in 1992 with The Family Van, a mobile health clinic designed to increase access to health care and improve the health of residents in Boston’s underserved communities, and for pioneering multiple medical breakthroughs including the “walking epidural” and a novel technique for analyzing fetal heart rate variability.

With proceeds benefiting VNA Care’s vital home health care services and quality end-of-life care, the spectacular evening kicks-off with a cocktail reception and silent auction at 6 pm, followed by an elegant dinner and musical entertainment by Boston Arts Academy, Michele Zimmerman, and Sugar & the Essential Spice.

The organization is grateful to Presenting Sponsors, Corridor and Mutual of America, and Trustee Sponsors and Honorary Gala Chairs, Joshua Boger, PhD and Amy Boger, MD.

Honorary Gala Committee Members include Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey; Boston Mayor Michelle Wu; Alastair Bell, MD, President & CEO, Boston Medical Center Health System; Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, President & CEO Emeritus, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Kevin B. Churchwell, MD, President & CEO, Boston Children's Hospital; Joyce M. Cummings, Co-founder, Cummings Foundation; Catherine D’Amato, President & CEO, The Greater Boston Food Bank; Alexandra Drane, Co-Founder & CEO, ARCHANGELS; Uzochi Erlingsson, MD, and Erik C. Erlingsson, MD, MS, MPH, Founding Partners, FHIOS Health; Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, President & CEO, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and Jim O’Connell, MD, President, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program.

For additional event information, including how to purchase tables, tickets, ads and tribute messages in honor the 2024 awardees and/or VNA Care nurses and clinicians, visit http://www.vnacare.org/gala or contact Laura Wise, manager of fund development, at 617-886-6460 or Laura_Wise@vnacare.org.

VNA Care was the first organized visiting nurse association in the United States, and has a 137-year history of providing health care in patients’ homes and the community. VNA Care provides a comprehensive range of home health, palliative, and hospice care in more than 200 Eastern and Central Massachusetts communities.