Business Group Honors Psychiatrist's Work to Advance Health Care

Freda Lewis-Hall, M.D., who has been influential in multiple areas of psychiatry, including as a former member of the Board of Directors of the American Psychiatric Foundation, has been chosen to receive the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) Woman of the Year Award for 2011. The award will be presented May 5 in New York at the HBA Woman of the Year luncheon typically attended by nearly 2,500 leaders of the health care industry.

Lewis-Hall is the chief medical officer of Pfizer Inc., the largest pharmaceutical company in the world by sales volume. She has received numerous honors: In 2010 she was named one of the 25 Most Influential African-Americans in Healthcare by Black Health Magazine. In September 2010, she was appointed to the inaugural Board of Governors for the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, which will prioritize and direct a range of research programs under the federal health care reform law of 2010.

In 2009, Lewis-Hall was one of 15 women spotlighted by ForbesWoman as a role model for young women in science. She has personally mentored more than 100 women.

Lewis-Hall is a distinguished fellow of APA and served on the American Psychiatric Foundation Board of Directors from 2008 to 2010.

"I am deeply honored to be named Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association," said Lewis-Hall. "The HBA has been an agent of positive growth for many women who have made great contributions to the advancement of health care. To have been nominated for this award by my fellow members of the health care community is especially meaningful to me. Whether we're in industry, academia, government, or the nonprofit arena, we share a common goal: to improve the quality of health care for all patients."

James H. Scully Jr., M.D., medical director of APA, observed, "We are not surprised that Freda has achieved this honor. She was an outstanding and creative force on the American Psychiatric Foundation Board. She brings both energy and intelligence to whatever she undertakes and combines this with warmth and a great sense of humor."