Nominated by Kathryn Moore
Dr. Sanjeev Arora founded Project ECHO at the University of New Mexico in 2003 to provide hepatitis C care to rural New Mexicans. The ECHO model connects healthcare practitioners in underserved areas to specialists at academic medical centers for virtual mentoring, case-based learning, and sharing of best practices. Patients gain access to quality healthcare in their own communities from providers they trust. ECHO has been adopted by over 350 global partners to address over 100 conditions, reaching over 50,000 practitioners and their patients. It has also been implemented for rural educators. ECHO’s impact on participants and their patients has been documented in 165 peer-reviewed publications. The U.S. Congress passed the 2019 ECHO Act, providing funding opportunities for partners to utilize ECHO for health, education, and other workforce development initiatives.
