Nominate Yourself or a Colleague!
To nominate yourself or a colleague for an SSVMS Annual Award, please complete this online form.
2026 Award Recipients
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Golden Stethoscope Award
Carolyn E. Getman, MD
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Community Impact Award
Sam M. Siegel, MD
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Excellence in Advocacy Award
Margaret E. Parsons, MD
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Outstanding Medical Society Volunteer Award
Peter M. Yellowlees, MD
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Dr. Getman earned her medical degree from UC Davis School of Medicine and completed her pediatrics residency and neonatal/perinatal fellowship there before co-founding Community Neonatology of Sacramento in 1990. She became medical director of the NICU at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in 2000, where her leadership has driven steady growth and innovation. Under her direction, the unit expanded from 6 to 40 beds, adopted advanced technologies and therapies ahead of many larger programs, and achieved major milestones—including becoming the first hospital on the West Coast to receive Perinatal Care Certification from The Joint Commission and opening a state-of-the-art NICU in 2020.
Dr. Getman has also been a pioneer in family-centered care, transforming the NICU to allow full-time rooming-in and ensuring space at every bedside for a parent to stay overnight—an approach that strengthens bonding and improves outcomes for high-risk infants. Beyond her hospital, she has extended neonatal expertise across the region by establishing emergency stabilization support for smaller hospitals, implementing telemedicine access, and teaching neonatal resuscitation widely. Over more than 35 years, her commitment to innovation, collaboration, and compassionate care has had a lasting impact on the region’s most vulnerable patients and their families.
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Dr. Siegel graduated from Jefferson Medical College and completed his pediatric residency at Kaiser Medical Center in Oakland in 2015. Since 2016, he has practiced with Woodland Clinic Medical Group, where he has reimagined prevention as a hands-on, community-based effort. In 2022, he founded Homegrown Health, a pediatrician-led initiative addressing childhood obesity by putting living nutrition directly into families’ hands—distributing thousands of vegetable plants each year and teaching children and parents how to grow, prepare, and enjoy healthy food in a way that is practical, affordable, and engaging.
Through Homegrown Health, Dr. Siegel has translated clinical concern into meaningful community impact. His work lowers barriers to healthy eating, strengthens health literacy, and integrates garden-based nutrition into pediatric care while extending its reach into neighborhoods across the region. By connecting children to where food comes from and empowering families with simple, sustainable tools, he has created a replicable model of prevention—one that continues to shape healthier habits and improve outcomes for the next generation.
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A Sacramento native, Dr. Parsons returned home in 1996 after completing medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine and her dermatology residency, where she served as chief resident. From the outset of her career, she has paired clinical excellence with a deep commitment to advocacy, education, and volunteer leadership. Known to her patients as a compassionate and skilled dermatologist, she is equally respected by colleagues as a tireless advocate who elevates both her profession and her community.
Dr. Parsons—known to many as Maggie—has provided transformative leadership at the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society, serving as President in 2008 and dedicating more than a decade as Chair of the Scholarship & Awards Committee. She has also been a powerful voice at the state and national levels, serving nine years in the California Medical Association House of Delegates and another nine as an 11th District Trustee, in addition to leadership roles with the American Academy of Dermatology and service on the Board of Sutter Independent Physicians. Her decades of thoughtful, steady leadership have strengthened organized medicine, advanced physician advocacy, and supported generations of physicians and patients alike.
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For more than three decades, Dr. Yellowlees has dedicated his career to improving the lives of both patients and physicians. An internationally recognized expert in psychiatry, telemedicine, and physician well-being, he has seamlessly integrated clinical practice, research, and education to reshape how medicine supports those who deliver care. His work is grounded in deep compassion, including a longstanding focus on treating physicians and clinical professionals, recognizing their unique challenges and needs.
Dr. Yellowlees has been a driving force behind the Society’s Joy of Medicine program, contributing research, whitepapers, and continuing medical education while elevating awareness of burnout and moral injury as critical issues in modern healthcare. Through mentorship, teaching, and his role as host of the Joy of Medicine On Call podcast, he has guided countless physicians and helped normalize conversations around mental health and well-being. His influence has extended beyond individual programs, shaping a culture of compassion, collegiality, and advocacy within SSVMS and contributing to broader national and international conversations on clinician health.
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SSVMS Annual Awards
SSVMS provides awards in up to four categories:
- Golden Stethoscope Award - Awarded annually; candidates are evaluated primarily for their devotion to patient care and the medical needs of our community.
- Community Impact Award - Formerly the Medical Honor Award; given to an SSVMS member whose high achievement has translated into a contribution of great significance to the community.
- Excellence in Advocacy Award - Created in 2023 to recognize notable leadership in the advancement of health care policy that directly benefits physicians and patients.
- Outstanding Medical Society Volunteer Award - Created in 2023 to acknowledge physicians who advance the mission and vision of SSVMS through significant contributions to our Society or through their participation in charitable programs such as SPIRIT, Joy of Medicine, Future of Medicine, the Museum of Medical History, and more.
Golden Stethoscope Award - Previous Recipients
2026 Carolyn E. Getman, MD
2025 Laurie C. Gregg, MD
2024 Rajiv Misquitta, MD
2023 Kent Jolly, MD
2022 Deferred to 2023
2021 JaNanh Scalapino, MD
2020 Award Not Presented During Pandemic
2019 David Kissinger, MD
2018 Denise Satterfield, MD
2017 Mary Pat Pauly, MD
2016 Gordon A. Wong, MD
2015 Robert A. Kahle, MD
2014 Delphine W. Ong, MD
2013 Bradley E. Chipps, MD
2012 Marion Leff, MD
2011 Ernest E. Johnson, MD
2010 William J. W. Au, MD
2009 Jane O’Green Koenig, MD
2008 James A. Margolis, MD
2007 David F. Dozier, Jr., MD
2006 William G. Bush, MD
2005 Paul B. Kelly, MD
2004 Erwin A. Eichhorn, MD
2003 Barbara J. Arnold, MD
2002 Roger A. Lieberman, MD
2001 Kenneth B. Wiesner, MD
2000 Herbert Bauer, MD, Eleanor Rodgerson, MD, Hiroshi Yamauchi, MD
1999 Donald Hopkins, MD
1998 John B. Reardan, MD
1997 John Baker, MD
1996 Bernard Lewis, MD
1995 Edward Smeloff, MD
1994 Leon Burke, MD, Lyman Maass, MD
1993 Frank Schiro, MD
1992 Willis Pickel, MD
1991 Otto Neubuerger, MD
1990 Kenneth Ozawa, MD
1989 James Arliss Pollock, MD
1988 Robert J. LaPerriere, MD
1987 William Y. Fong, MD
1986 Byron H. Demorest, MD
1985 Richard L. Johnson, MD
1984 Robert H. Quillinan, MD
1983 Dennis Marks, MD
1982 Henry Go, MD, Max Shaffrath, MD
1981 Stanley Smiley, MD
1980 James Paul Barnes, MD
1979 L. Morgan Boyers, MD
1978 Howard Bliss, MD
1977 Dan O. Kilroy, MD
1976 William F.B. Harding, MD
1975 Abe E. Berman, MD
1974 Raymond J. Primasing, MD, Carl E. Horn, MD
1972 Charles Blumenfeld, MD, James Yant, MD
1971 James W. Martin, MD
1970 Dave F. Dozier, Sr., MD
1968 Edmund E. Simpson, MD
1967 Oscar F. Johnson, MD
1966 Frank B. Reardan, MD
1964 Andrew M. Henderson, MD
1963 James W. Elliott, MD
1962 Ray M. Wallerius, MD
1961 Ralph Teall, MD
Community Impact Award (Formerly Medical Honor Award) - Previous Recipients
2026 Sam M. Siegel, MD
2025 José Arévalo, MD
2024 Aimee Moulin, MD – In recognition for her work as co-founder and principal investigator of the California Bridge Project.
2023 Ronald Chambers, MD – In recognition for his dedicated and passionate work as medical director of the Mercy Medical Safe Haven Program, providing comprehensive trauma-informed health services to persons who have experienced human trafficking and who live in the Greater Sacramento Area.
2022 Deferred to 2023
2021 Gary Chu, MD – In recognition of his contribution to community health.
2020 No Award Given
2019 Andrew Hudnut, MD – In recognition of 20 years as a SPIRIT Adopt-A-School volunteer and a volunteer at the Interim Care Program (ICP) for homeless patients.
2018 David Herbert, MD – In recognition of his efforts working with the SPIRIT Program to increase access to care for the medically underserved in our community.
2017 Gordon S. Garcia, MD – In recognition of his spirit of community service and volunteerism as a child advocate, community educator and instructor to three local medical school universities.
2016 Tim W. Grennan, MD – In recognition of his outstanding achievements as a physician, medical educator and researcher in the advancement of cancer treatment.
2015 George W. Meyer, MD – In recognition of his outstanding volunteer contributions to the health of the people in our community and throughout the world.
2014 Paul R. Phinney, MD - In recognition as a leading advocate for patients and physicians on healthcare issues.
2013 John W. Young, MD – In recognition of his dedication to the uninsured, and exemplary service to the SPIRIT Program.
2012 Christopher Gresens, MD – In recognition of his passionate efforts to maintain a safe blood supply.
2011 John C. Loofbourow, MD – In recognition of his advocacy for the underserved and a voice of the Medical Community as Editor, Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine.
2010 Faith Fitzgerald, MD – For Inspiring Leadership in Educating Medical Students and the Community About the Art and Science of Medicine.
2009 Joanne Berkowitz, MD – In recognition as an outstanding advocate for patients and physicians on healthcare issues.
2008 Ruth Haskins, MD – In recognition as a leading advocate for patients and physicians on healthcare issues.
2007 Richard J.D. Pan, MD - In recognition as a leading advocate for insuring all children.
2006 John Chuck, MD - In recognition as founder and CEO of the Serotonin Surge Charities.
2005 Ann Gerhardt, MD -In recognition as founder of the organization WINS --- We Insist on Natural Shapes. A non-profit organization devoted to educating the public about body-image issues.
2004 Lawrence Bass, MD - In recognition of his dedication to providing care to the medically underserved.
2003 Joseph Silva, Jr., MD - Presented in recognition of achieving 100% membership of all four years of medical students in SSVMS, CMA and the AMA and his support and leadership in organized medicine.
2002 Ann Haas, MD - Presented in recognition of her outstanding leadership as President of the Sun Safe City Program.
2001 Patricia L. Samuelson, MD - Presented in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Shots for Tots and patient advocacy.
2000 Edward Rudin, MD - Presented in recognition of his outstanding contributions to community mental health.
1999 Frederick E. Pratt, MD - Presented for his outstanding volunteer contributions to the health of the people in our community and throughout the world.
1998 Gerald Swafford, MD - Presented for exemplifying the efforts of the many physicians who volunteer their time to the Society's SPIRIT Project. Dr. Swafford was the first volunteer for the SPIRIT Project to perform hernia repairs for individuals who otherwise would not be able to receive this care.
1997 Glennah Trochet, MD - Presented for her devotion to the treatment of the medically indigent in Sacramento and her diligent work with the Society's SPIRIT Project since its inception.
1997 Ernie Bodai, MD - Presented for his achievement in obtaining the passage of legislation that authorized the sale of a breast cancer postage stamp with some of the proceeds going research.
1996 Larry Otterness, MD -Presented for his devotion to the well-being of physicians in Sacramento and El Dorado medical communities.
1995 Quentin Bonser, MD - Presented for his significant contributions to medicine and community health in Sacramento and El Dorado counties.
1994 Harvey Rose, MD - Presented for his major contributions on behalf of medicine & patients in the understanding of the treatment of chronic pain.
1993 Jerome Lackner, MD - Presented for his devotion to the treatment of individuals with drug dependencies and for his deep compassion and medical care of this underserved population.
1989-1992 The award was not presented in this category during these years.
1988 Robert LaPerriere, MD - Presented for his work with the City Cemetery and the preservation of pioneer physician gravesites.
1987 Suzanne Snively, MD - Presented for her contributions to student health on the CSUS campus.
1986 Harvey Thompson, MD (posthumously) and Sandy Pomerantz, MD* - Presented for their work establishing the AIDS Foundation.
Excellence in Advocacy Award
2026 Margaret E. Parsons, MD
Outstanding Medical Society Volunteer Award - Previous Recipients
2026 Peter M. Yellowlees, MD
2025 Eric Williams, MD
2024 Robert LaPerriere, MD