Dr. Virginia Caine receives Madame C.J. Walker Woman of the Year Award from CLD

Dr. Virginia Caine received the 2015 Madame C.J. Walker Outstanding Woman of the Year. This award was presented by the Center for Leadership Development.

Councilwoman Maggie Lewis presented the award to Dr. Caine for her personal and professional passion to help citizens remain healthy. She provided the following comments about Dr. Caine:

Dr. Caine was thrust into the AIDS epidemic early in her career in Baltimore. She saw her first AIDS patient two years before a medical test existed for diagnosis.

In 1994, she became director of the Marion County Public Health Department—a position she has held for the past two decades.

During her prestigious career, Dr. Caine helped set up the first nationwide physician education program on AIDS and establish the country’s first HIV & AIDS school guidelines, which would ultimately allow Ryan White to attend school. She also was part of creating the city’s first integrated HIV health care delivery system and was a principal investigator for the Ryan White Title 3 funds.

In recent years, Dr. Caine has used her expertise to launch a community-wide initiative to address the H1-N1 influenza virus outbreak and establish a violence prevention program addressing bullying prevention.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Caine has been recognized with many awards over the years, including being named a “Local Legend” by the National Library of Medicine.

One of her most cherished awards was being named “Internist of the Year” by the National Medical Association. This award paid tribute to her leadership in the fight against infectious diseases.

Notably, Dr. Caine was the first woman to receive this distinctive national honor, and the association recognized her again in 2010 with the “Practitioner of the Year” award.

Whether it is taking charge at the Marion County Public Health Department, seeing patients at Eskenazi Health, or partnering with community leaders, Dr. Caine is determined to make Indianapolis the healthiest city in the nation.

— Source: Introduction of Dr. Caine

Congratulations to Dr. Caine!