Dr. Avra Goldman Named Finalist for Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award

Cambridge resident Dr. Avra Goldman, the medical director of Boston Medical Center’s Family Medicine Clinic, has been named a finalist for the prestigious Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award, given by the Boston-based Kenneth B. Schwartz Center.

The award, now in its tenth year, recognizes the Massachusetts caregiver who best personifies the mission of the Schwartz Center to “support and advance compassionate health care in which caregivers, patients and their families relate to one another in a way that provides hope to the patient, support to caregivers and sustenance to the healing process.”

The winner will be announced at the organization’s annual dinner Nov. 12 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Some 112 healthcare workers were nominated this year, a record number. The nominees ranged from social workers to physicians to nurses. AstraZeneca, a leading pharmaceutical company, has sponsored the award for the past four years.

“Avra’s patients are the city’s neediest and she becomes like a lifeline to many of them,” said Julie Rosen, executive director of the Center. “They hail from all over the world and are often quite sick, with multiple chronic illnesses. Some are political refugees who have fled abuse and torture in their native countries. She has an amazing capacity to put them at ease, creating an atmosphere of warmth and trust.”

Goldman’s commitment extends far beyond the hospital walls. She not only has a busy clinical practice but also does volunteer medical work in the southern African country of Lesotho; mentors medical students and residents; runs her department’s home visit program; and regularly testifies on behalf of her patients at asylum hearings.

And she connects deeply with her patients. “Dr. Goldman always knows what is going on medically with me, but more importantly, she understands what is going on spiritually and emotionally on my journey,” said one patient with AIDS.

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