FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 18, 2016
MAG HONORS LATE J. HAROLD HARRISON, M.D., FOR HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS
ATLANTA – The late J. Harold Harrison, M.D., was honored with the Jack A. Raines Humanitarian Award during a ceremony that took place in conjunction with the Medical Association of Georgia’s (MAG) 162nd House of Delegates meeting in Savannah on October 15. The MAG award is given to a physician for their outstanding humanitarian contributions beyond the normal practice of medicine.
In nominating him for the award, members of the Richmond County Medical Society (RCMS) said that, “Dr. Harrison was a remarkable physician, a supporter of organized medicine, and a leader in his community.”
They explained that Dr. Harrison “was a gifted and extremely productive surgeon – and he believed passionately in the role of the physician as a leader.”
Shortly before the long-time MAG member passed away in 2012, Dr. Harrison donated $10 million to build the Education Commons at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) at Augusta University – the “new home for Georgia’s public medical school.”
In addition, Dr. Harrison supported MCG with a perpetual endowment of $66 million upon his death – “the largest gift to any public institution ever in Georgia and one of only a handful of such transformative gifts in history.”
The RCMS leaders concluded that, “Dr. Harrison's extraordinary commitment to his profession and the development of physician leaders in the state will benefit Georgians for generations to come – and it represents a unique, compelling, and forever impactful humanitarian act.”
Dr. Harrison practiced vascular surgery in Atlanta, and he received his medical degree from MCG.
With more than 7,800 members, MAG is the leading voice for physicians in Georgia. MAG is an advocate for physicians in every practice setting and specialty. MAG’s membership has increased for six years in a row. Go to www.mag.org for additional information.
