About Dr. Bernard F. Gipson, Sr.

Dr. Gipson grew up in Texas and graduated from Morehouse College in 1944. He later received his medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine and performed his internship at Harlem Hospital in New York City. He was elected to the Kappa Pi Medical School Honorary Society. His residency, under the direction of Dr. Charles R. Drew, was performed at Howard University and the U.S. Public Health Hospital in Boston, after which he became a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery.

Following his residency at Howard University Hospital, he signed up for the Air Force and was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base, where he served as Chief of Surgery. After completing his military obligation, Dr. Gipson entered the private practice of surgery in Denver. He was the first African-American board certified surgeon in the state of Coloardo. He also was a member of the faculty of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in the Department of Surgery, where he served for over 25 years and retired as a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery. He is still active today as a volunteer in the Denver community.

In recognition of his tremendous service to the Denver community, Denver Health and Hosptial Authority renamed the Eastside Neighborhood Health Center as the Bernard F. Gipson, Sr. Eastside Family Health Center.

SUBMIT A NOMINATION FOR THE DR. BERNARD F. GIPSON, SR. HEALTH LEADERSHIP AWARD

The Center for African-American Health established the Dr. Bernard F. Gipson, Sr. Health Leadership Award in 2006 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the health and well-being of the African-American community. The award is presented each year at the Center for African-American Health's Annual Dinner event in November.

The award is named after Dr. Gipson, the first board-certified African-American surgeon in Colorado. Dr. Gipson retired from practice in Denver in 1995, after serving the community for 41 years.

2009 Nomination Form--printable (pdf)

Award Criteria
Nominees for the Bernard F. Gipson Sr. Health Leadership Award should exhibit:

commitment and passion for the mission of improving the health and well-being of African Americans;
demonstrated leadership in his/her field and community;
dedication to volunteerism and community engagement;
a history of serving as a role model to others in his/her field;
unique contribution(s) in health and service to community (a "trailblazer" for others).

In addition:

the primary focus of the nominees' work must be in Colorado;
Nominations are not limited to physicians and may include other health professionals or policy/organizational leaders.

Nomination Instructions

Self-nominations are accepted.
Complete the nomination form provided.
Write a narrative describing why you feel this nominee should receive this award, addressing the award criteria. Cite concrete examples of accomplishments and the nominee's most significant contributions to community. Type this narrative and use no more than two pages.
No cover letter, letters of support, or attachments are accepted.
Nominations may be submitted one of three ways: 1) Online, by completing the nomination form and narrative below; 2) Printing out the nomination form pdf above and faxing the completed form and narrative to 303-355-1807; 3) Printing out the nomination form pdf above and mailing the completed form and narrative to: Gipson Award Committee, Center for African-American Health, 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Denver, CO 80205.
Deadline: Monday, August 17, 2009 (Postmarked or electronically submitted).
Award will be presented: Friday, November 20, 2009 at the Center for African-American Health's Annual Dinner.
For questions, call: Grant Jones at 303-355-3423.

Nomination Form

Nominee's Name:
Title:
Organization:
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Home Phone:
E-mail:
Nominator's Name:
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Describe why you feel this nominee should receive this award, by addressing the award criteria. Cite concrete examples of accomplishments and the nominee's most significant contributions to community. Limit your narrative to 1000 words. We recommend writing the narrative in a word-processing document and copying and pasting it into the box.