Rick Whitted named RISE's 2023 Health Care Hero Award recipient

The CEO of U.S. Hunger received the RISE Health Care Hero Award on Tuesday, April 4 at The RISE Summit on Social Determinants of Health in Chicago.

CHICAGO, April 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RISE is pleased to announce that Rick Whitted, CEO of U.S. Hunger, was awarded the 2023 RISE Health Care Hero Award at The RISE Summit on Social Determinants of Health.

The Health Care Hero Award is a prestigious award presented at The RISE Summit on Social Determinants of Health that acknowledges an individual's effort to make a significant impact on the lives of underserved populations through health care and/or social services interventions, and through superior example of the RISE mission to promote health equity among all patients.

RISE received a total of 56 nominations for this year's award. Whitted was chosen for his leadership and innovation in addressing food insecurity while also tackling the systemic causes of hunger and dramatically improving health and wellbeing.

Whitted joined U.S. Hunger as a board member in 2017 and became CEO in 2020. He has led several initiatives to further the fight against hunger, including a virtual food bank program, meal packaging events, and disaster relief worldwide. In 2022, Whitted and his team ran 198 Hunger Projects, packaging nearly nine million meals for families in need around the world. Through his unprecedented work in targeting the root causes behind food insecurity, Whitted has also led U.S. Hunger in collecting more than 160,000 survey responses to date from individuals who have shared their experiences with food insecurity.

"Rick Whitted is redefining how our industry approaches the interconnectedness between hunger and health. Rick recognized that food is just the beginning. He has committed to listening, documenting, and preserving the real-life stories of those affected by food insecurity. These collected voices provide the insight to address root causes and drive lasting change," said the nomination.

About the Health Care Hero Award
The Health Care Hero Award is presented each year to an individual who has made a significant impact on the lives of underserved populations through health care and/or social services interventions, and through superior example of the RISE mission to promote health equity among all patients. Eligibility requirements include the following:

1. Nominee must work in a role that addresses social determinants of health.
2. Nominee must work for one of the following organizations: health plan, health care provider, social services provider/non-profit/CBO, government organization, foundation, pharmaceutical company, or vendor/supplier.
3. Nominee does not need to have a medical credential to be nominated.
4. Nominee must have fulfilled one of the following criteria: contributed to significant process improvement in addressing the care of underserved populations and/or dedicated 10+ years to exemplary work in this industry.

Nominations are being accepted for the 2024 award. Nominations must be submitted by December 31, 2023. The award will be presented at The RISE Summit on Social Determinants of Health on April 15-17, 2024 in New Orleans.

RISE is the premier community for health care professionals who aspire to meet the extraordinary challenges posed by the emerging landscape of accountable care and government health care reform. Recognized industry wide as the number one source for information on risk adjustment and quality improvement within health care, RISE strives to serve the community on four fronts: networking, education, industry intelligence and career development. Through cutting-edge conferences, online courses, in-house training, webinars as well as an association comprised of over 6,000 members, RISE provides professionals with industry insights and critical information they need to stay ahead of the curve. RISE produces more than 30 conferences annually, focused on sophisticated topics and ample networking opportunities for thousands of executives from mid- to senior-level and C-suite. Our team of subject matter experts is often first to market with emerging topics, and we pride ourselves on consistently delivering top quality operations and logistics to produce a seamless event.

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SOURCE RISE