Dr Taweh Named 2004 Magida Winner

 TRUMBULL — Z. Michael Taweh, MD, of Newtown has been named this year’s recipient of the prestigious Dr Melville G. Magida Award. The Magida Award — the only one of its kind in Connecticut — is presented annually by the Fairfield County Medical Association and The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation.

 An internal medicine physician, Dr Taweh was nominated for the award by his professional colleagues at Danbury Hospital.

 “One of six siblings whose parents own a donut shop, Michael is an unlikely hero who inspires all of us to practice medicine with a little more humility and a little more passion,” said Joan Draper, MD, president of the medical staff at the hospital.

Now in its 25th presentation by the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation, in cooperation with the Fairfield County Medical Association (FCMA), the award recognizes a younger Fairfield County physician (no older than 39 years of age) for “demonstrated notable capability in patient treatment and care and a special sensitivity to patient-physician relationships.”

Dr Taweh received his bachelor of art degree in biology and chemistry from Central Connecticut State University and his medical degree from St George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. He performed his residency at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he was Resident Teacher of the Year in 1999.

Board certified in internal medicine, Dr Taweh is in private practice in Danbury and a staff physician at Danbury Hospital. He is medical director of Glen Hill Nursing Home and of Kevin’s Community Center Free Clinic, a health care center dedicated to serving the uninsured and underinsured in Newtown, in memory of his deceased son Kevin.

It is perhaps this last accomplishment that most sets Dr Taweh apart and qualifies him as a Magida nominee, Dr Draper said. Dr Taweh devoted untold energy and his considerable talents into the effort to establish a completely free medical clinic in Newtown. He pursued the resources to raise the funds, organized the staffing, and established a facility to serve the previously unmet needs of the town — he did this all as a memorial to the untimely and tragic death of his young son, Kevin, she said.

 “In today’s medical climate, it is rare to see the pursuit and success of such a magnanimous effort. We would do well to recognize and applaud Dr Taweh’s efforts and to carry some of his spirit with us in our own medical careers,” said Dr Draper.

 “The Magida Award is our most prestigious. It honors the best young physicians for their exceptional commitment to the treatment and care of patients,” said Mark S. Thompson, executive director of the Fairfield County Medical Association. “Being nominated for this distinguished award is an honor because it is your peers who feel you are worthy to join an elite group of individuals.”

The 2003 Magida Award recipient, William V. Begg, III, MD, who is also a Newtown resident, summarized Dr Taweh’s nomination by saying, “Dr Taweh has set himself apart in the greater Danbury area by his commitment to community service. He represents the ideals and commitment in our Connecticut young physicians that the Magida Award pays tribute to.”

 Founded in 1792, the Fairfield County Medical Association is a professional membership organization representing 2,000 physicians who are dedicated to a healthier Fairfield County.