Happy New Year, fellow dedicated public health and health workers!

We celebrated the close of 2019—a year of hard work and renewals, sweats and laughers—as we remember the accomplishments we made upon successes and achievements of those before us. This sentiment was exemplified by the two prestigious awards our own at UR-CCP received, as we gathered in year end to celebrate the successes and rededicate ourselves for the future challenges.

CCP Medical Director, Dr. Marguerite Urban, was recognized by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute for her leadership and commitment to HIV medicine and prevention with the 2019 Linda Laubenstein Award at the Ending The Epidemic Summit.

“The Dr. Linda Laubenstein Award honors those select clinicians in New York State each year whose commitment to clinical excellence carriers on the standard set by Dr. Linda Laubenstein, who early in the AIDS epidemic combined compassionate care for patients, with research efforts and advocacy…” noted the AIDS Institute award announcement.  Dr. Urban was recognized not just for “her outstanding contributions to the advancement of HIV clinical care,” but “her wholehearted commitment to the education of clinical providers and her compassion for the patients receiving their care.”

Cynthia Thomas, CCP Trainer and Senior Public Health Specialist, received the Jill Gonzalez Health Educator Award at the Rochester Area Task Force on AIDS (RAFTA) annual World AIDS Day Luncheon.  The award recognizes her for her dedication and commitment in HIV education, and for facing the challenges of HIV education with enthusiasm and creativity. 

In the new year, we humbly stand on the shoulders of the giants who have worked hard, and fought hard to bring us this far, as we continue to dedicate ourselves in our work to end the HIV epidemic.