McKnight Heroes Prize Nominations Now Open

Nominate a patient safety hero today

Award recognizes individuals dedicated to protecting patients from healthcare outbreaks

Early identification and timely response to a healthcare outbreak is critical to minimizing the number of people negatively impacted.  Together, the Evelyn and Thomas McKnight Family Fund for Patient Safety and the CDC Foundation created The McKnight Prize for Healthcare Outbreak Heroes to encourage and reward those who serve and protect patients from harm related to healthcare outbreaks. Nominations for this year’s prize are now being accepted.  Candidates for the McKnight Heroes Prize can be from a variety of professions including, but not limited to, nurses, physicians, public health professionals, administrators, and patient advocates. The prize criteria focus on a candidate’s contributions to enhancing the response to a healthcare outbreak.  Nominations will be accepted through Friday, May 1, 2026: Online Application.

Evelyn and Thomas McKnight

Past recipients of the McKnight Prize for Healthcare Outbreak Heroes are:  2025 – Dr. Joseph F. Perz, DrPH, MA for advocating for safe injection practices, ultimately saving thousands of lives and preserving the health of many more.  2024 – Elizabeth Nazarian, for her leadership of the AR Laboratory Network’s Northeast Regional Laboratory during an outbreak of extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  2023 – Jennifer Jones, RN, BSN, CPEN, for her outstanding response to a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) outbreak in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  2022 – Lisa Hannah, RN, CIC, for exemplary infection prevention leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.  2021 – Frontline nursing home staff for going above and beyond to admirably care for and protect their residents in the face of great personal risk throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  2020 – Maureen Tierney, MD, MSc, for initiating and overseeing the investigation of E. coli sepsis related to a nationally-distributed, unapproved biologic product administered to patients seeking relief from arthritis and degenerative diseases.

	Know a healthcare hero? Nominations are open for McKnight Heroes Prize honoring those who serve and protect patients from healthcare outbreaks. Nominations accepted through Friday, May 1, 2026. More info: https://www.cdcfoundation.org/McKnightFund @CDCFound

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