M3 and M4 students only: Cast your vote for the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Faculty Award

Dear M3 and M4 Students:

Each year, NEOMED students have an opportunity to select a clinical faculty member (M.D. or D.O.) as the recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award presented by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The purpose of this award is to recognize the value of humanism in the delivery of care to patients and their families. The award is presented to a faculty member who best demonstrates the foundation’s ideals of outstanding compassion in the delivery of care, respect for patients, their families and healthcare colleagues, as well as demonstrated clinical excellence. NEOMED’s Tow Humanism in Medicine recipient will also be inducted into the NEOMED chapter of the Virtuous Healer Honor Society (VHHS) on March 12, 2026.

This year’s faculty nominees:

Please review each nominee’s CV (attached here) before voting. Some nominees did not provide a CV.

• Dr. Jennifer Baccon, Pathology – Akron Children’s Hospital
• Dr. Kevin Baldie, Family Medicine – Cleveland Clinic Akron General (CV not provided)
• Dr. Amy Burkett, OBGYN – Cleveland Clinic Akron General (CV not provided)
• Dr. Danielle Cooper, Family Medicine – University Hospitals
• Dr. Stephanie Goare, Surgery – Riverside Methodist
• Dr. Jessica Handel, Family Medicine – Mercy Health
• Dr. Saira Ismail, Family Medicine - NEOMED (CV not provided)
• Dr. Todd Ivan, Psychiatry – Summa Health
• Dr. Cheryl Johnson, OBGYN – Summa Health
• Dr. Carmen Julius, Pathology – Akron Children’s Hospital
• Dr. Jason Kolb, Emergency Medicine – Summa Health
• Dr. Amy Lee, Preventive Medicine - NEOMED
• Dr. Bradley Moore, Internal Medicine – Summa Health
• Dr. Sanjay Patel, Internal Medicine – Riverside Methodist (CV not provided)
• Dr. Joseph Saadey, General Surgery – Aultman Hospital (CV not provided)
• Dr. Corrie Stofcho, Pediatrics - Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Dr. Michael Thompson, Internal Medicine – University Hospitals (CV not provided)

Please click on the link below to cast your vote for the faculty member who best meets the criteria below:

• consistently demonstrates compassion and empathy in the delivery of care to patients
• serves as a role model—illustrates professional behavior by example
• approachable and accessible to students
• welcomes opportunities for teaching and one-on-one mentorships with students
• exhibits enthusiasm and skill in professional and personal interactions with students
• shows respect for everyone
• demonstrates cultural sensitivity in working with patients and family members of diverse backgrounds
• displays effective communication and listening skills
• understands patients’ need for interpretation of complex medical diagnoses and treatments and makes an effort to ensure patient comprehension—shows respect for the patient’s viewpoint
• sensitive to the patients’ psychological well-being
• effectively identifies emotional concerns of patients and family members
• cooperative, respectful and easy to work with- engenders trust and confidence
• adheres to professional and ethical standards
• committed to reflection and objective self-evaluation of his/her skills
• displays competence in scientific endeavors

Past NEOMED Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award recipients are:

• Alex Heintzelman, M.D., 2025
• Katherine Tatar, M.D., 2024
• Timothy Barreiro, D.O., 2023
• Mariquita Belen, M.D., 2022
• Kenneth Wyatt, D.O., 2021
• Marcus Julius, M.D., 2020
• David Deckert, M.D., 2019
• Susan Nofziger, M.D., 2018
• David Sperling, M.D., 2017
• Paul Lecat, M.D., 2016
• Jon Arnott, M.D., 2015
• Joseph Zarconi, M.D., 2014
• Deborah Plate, D.O., 2013
• Kevin Dieter, M.D., 2012

Please note that if you nominated one of the past award recipients, they were not included on the final ballot because they are not eligible to receive the award a second time. The deadline to cast your vote is Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.

Voting Link: https://forms.office.com/r/Dwx9PeNa4L

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this award.

- submitted by Harmony Stanger