SAN DIEGO — The American Medical Association (AMA) honored Newell E. Warde, Ph.D., executive director of the Rhode Island Medical Society (RIMS), with the Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a medical association executive who has contributed substantially to the goals and ideals of the medical profession.

“Over the past 34 years, Newell E. Warde has provided continuity, experience, and a steady hand during challenge, crossroads, and legislative battle waged by the Rhode Island Medical Society,” said AMA President Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A. “A talented writer, advocate, and jack-of-all-trades, Warde has led RIMS during a period of rapid change in health care – and done so with a clear and fair mind, as well as bold focus on the task at hand and the future.”

Beyond serving members of the RIMS, Warde ensured that the organization adopted community outreach strategies. He launched and oversaw the scholarship fund of the Providence Medical Association, which helps local high school students attend college. He used the society’s grant money to create a $1 million loan repayment program for primary care physicians and promoted public health awareness among local children through bicycle helmet campaigns and anti-smoking initiatives.

Warde is a senior member of a group of New England medical society executives and served two terms as chair of the AMA Litigation Center Board. An historian by training, Warde showed interest in the history of the Rhode Island Medical Society, one of the oldest state medical societies in the country, by maintaining the society’s original, historic building.

The AMA presented the award to Warde during the 2019 AMA Interim Meeting.