Advancing Health and Humanity for Over 100 Years
Since 1917, the American Women’s Hospitals Service has been providing global aid to clinics and regions around the world both in the form of grant support as well as relief supplies.
Learn about the fascinating history of AWHS and the indefatigable spirit of the early AMWA women physicians who served in the war effort despite being rebuffed by the U.S. Government:
Our latest efforts have included:
- Fundraising to support medical care needs in Gaza
- Fundraising to support earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria
- $2,000 to support Global Cancer Care and Research Institute in Kenya to provide cervical cancer screening
- Fundraising to support Aschiana Clinic in Afghanistan
- $7,000 to support Ukraine
- $10,000 to support Pakistan victims of flooding
- $23,000+ COVID-19 relief to India for oxygen concentrators
- $26,000+ to Afghanistan for food and medical aid following the collapse of their economy and government
- $6000+ for reusable menstrual pad kits for girls in Suriname
- Funds for Yemen
- Funds for Clinic Nepal
- AWHS has helped distribute disposable and fabric face masks donated by colleagues in Taiwan dyring the COVID-19 pandemic
- AWHS has provided emergency grant funding to support funding for pulse oximeters and face masks for a hospital in Parma, Italy hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The American Medical Women’s Association has joined efforts with The Robonauts, a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded to teach STEM and leadership skills to young learners, to help provide 3-D printed face shields to healthcare providers around the country. The partnership was launched by Michelle Benedict, Director of Research and Development at AMWA, who also helped accelerate 3-D PPE printing efforts at the University of Michigan Medical School.
- Face masks and shields to Navajo Nation (partnership with Operation Pegasus)
- 80,000 face masks to Navajo Nation (in partnership with the Tzu Chi Foundation, and others) to Navajo Nation.
We thank our members and donors for their generous support.
AWHS Clinic Grants
AWHS was first founded within AMWA as the War Service Committee during World War I. When women physicians were initially not accepted by the U.S. Army for service, AWHS organized hospital units staffed by women physicians and others to help in the overseas war efforts. Learn more about the legacy of AWHS in the on-line (and traveling) exhibition, Women Physicians in World War I as well as the short film At Home and Over There: American Women Physicians in World War I.
Since that time, AWHS has been established within AMWA as its charitable arm, supporting independent clinics outside the US which offer essential medical care to diverse populations. The clinics themselves have been similarly diverse, offering access to a spectrum of care from hospital-based services in Haiti to floating clinics and traveling operating rooms on refurbished ships serving remote villages along the Amazon river. In addition, AWHS has supported clinics in Tanzania, Uganda, and Nepal. Funding supports of programs that provide care, advancement and empowerment of women and children in underserved communities. We are devoted to fostering sustainable and innovative programs that will inspire individuals and make a difference for communities in need. Please click on the button below for more details about the clinic sites AWHS currently supports and to apply for a grant.
Funds are distributed on a yearly basis and typically grants are awarded between $2000 and $3500/yearly. The application process is competitive, with successful proposals clear demonstrating emphasis on:
- Sustainability
- Community involvement
- Community impact
- Health, empowerment, and advancement of women
- Strong educational partnership with AWHS
- Mentorship opportunities
To apply for an AWHS clinic grant, please review our clinic grant application. Applications for each annual cycle are accepted through July for disbursement of funds by the end of the calendar year. Please submit completed applications to: [email protected]
AWHS Community Project Grant
Do you need funds for a community project aimed at helping a community in need? AWHS provides grants up to $500 for community projects that focus on the empowerment or advancement of women as well as improving health care access for underserved populations and quality improvement of services in rural and/or urban underserved areas. These grants support community engagement and include health-related community-based research, service projects, and advocacy/education. Deadlines are January 5, May 5, September 5.
AWHS Overseas Travel Grant
Are you planning to travel overseas to work in a clinic or healthcare center dedicated to benefitting the medically underserved with a focus on women and children? AWHS provides grants of up to $1000 for AMWA medical students or resident physicians to help cover the costs of travel for working with underserved or international populations around the world with a focus on women and children. We believe that these global health experiences can be integral to your medical training. Deadlines are January 5, May 5, September 5.
AWHS History
In July 1915, 300 women physicians attended a lecture presented by Dr. Rosalie Morton, highlighting the work of women physicians in World War I. It was the norm in the United States at that time, as in the allied countries, to deny medical women any active role in the war effort. Dr. Morton’s lecture sparked a flame which would see the birth of the American Women’s Hospitals.
The American Women’s Hospitals (now known as the American Women’s Hospitals Service, or AWHS) was established to achieve a two-fold mission: the relief of suffering through medical care and the advancement of women in the medical profession. Dr. Esther Pohl Lovejoy chronicled much of the historical work of AWHS in her remarkable books, Certain Samaritans and Women Physicians and Surgeons.
- View an AWHS report from 1917
- American Women’s Hospitals Records (Finding Aid)
- American Women’s Hospitals Photographs (Finding Aid)
- They Were There: American Women Physicians and the First World War (Article)
- The American Women’s Hospitals: Women Physicians in World War I (Article)
- American Women Physicians in World War I (Exhibition)
- At Home and Over There: American Women Physicians in World War I (Film)
- The American Women’s Hospitals at Home: Public Health in Depression-Era Appalachia (Pinterest)
For almost a century, AWHS has continued this tradition of service in supporting medical programs and projects both at home and abroad.
AWHS Today
Keep up to date with our latest work with our AWHS newsletter Postcards and read more about our ongoing projects and how to get involved below.
- AWHS 2020 – 2021 Postcards
- AWHS 2016 Summer Postcards
- AWHS 2015 Spring Postcards
- AWHS 2014 Winter Postcards
Contact us via email at [email protected]