PHILADELPHIA — August 29, 2022 — Health Union, the leader in social health, has announced the inaugural class of Social Health Awards honorees. The Social Health Awards empower and celebrate health leaders who are essential to the ongoing conversations and connections made through social health – the dynamic, real-time action people take to find meaningful connections and share information that impact their health journey.
Health leaders were nominated across 10 categories designed to showcase the vast diversity of the patient and caregiver community and the various forms of advocacy across all condition areas and platforms. The winners, whose profiles and accomplishments can be viewed here, in each category are:
- Advocacy Trailblazer: Melissa Talwar, fibromyalgia patient leader
- Best Team: Fibromyalgia Care Society of America
- Caregiving Champion: Elle Cole, sickle cell disease and type 1 diabetes patient leader
- Community Cultivator: Natalie Hayden, inflammatory bowel disease/Crohn’s disease patient leader
- Creative Contributor: Erica Carrasco, migraine patient leader
- Healthcare Collaborator: Ella Balasa, cystic fibrosis patient leader
- Lifetime Achievement: Kristal Kent, fibromyalgia patient leader
- Revolutionary Researcher: Aaron Blocker, inflammatory bowel disease/Crohn’s disease and hypophosphatasia (rare disease) patient leader
- Rookie of the Year: Jill King, disabilities and chronic pain patient leader
- Social Media Master: Invisible Hypothyroidism
“At Health Union, we have long understood that patients and caregivers are the people who are driving unique and impactful conversations about health,” said Amrita Bhowmick, Health Union’s chief community officer. “The Social Health Awards give us the opportunity to spotlight – and celebrate – some of the best examples of health leaders whose hard work, advocacy and dedication to social health make a significant impact on health journeys at both the individual and community level.”
Nominations for the Social Health Awards were open to patient and caregiver leaders who are making a difference in healthcare as active members of an online community, based in the U.S. and are at least 18 years old. Nominees were first judged by their peers to determine the six finalists for each category. The 60 finalists were then evaluated by more than 70 healthcare industry thought leaders to determine the winners. The honorees were announced on Aug. 25 during Connexion, a Health Union virtual event that connects and empowers patient leaders.
The winners are invited to join Health Union on stage at the Social Health Awards celebration at the 2022 Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards ceremony, which will occur Oct. 19 at the annual Digital Pharma East conference in Philadelphia. More information about the Social Health Awards can be found at SocialHealthNetwork.com/Awards.
About Health Union
Health Union is the proven industry leader driving and amplifying social health. As the premier social health company, only Health Union encourages the dynamic, real-time action people take to find meaningful connections and share information that impact their health journey. The company reaches millions of people through the largest portfolio of condition-specific online health communities (e.g., Migraine.com, MultipleSclerosis.net, LungCancer.net) and health leaders – addressing virtually every condition and providing the information, connection and support they need.
