Ida M. Cannon Award

The inspiration for this most prestigious SSWLHC award, first presented in 1971, was Ida M. Cannon, who organized the first social work department in an acute care medical setting. Harriet Bartlett explained Ida Cannon’s impact on the early field of social work in her 1975 article.

Award Purpose, Expectations of Nominees

This award honors a national figure in health care social work for outstanding contributions to the leadership of social work in a health care setting and to the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care. Candidates must be widely recognized leaders in the field of health care social work and demonstrate the qualities that made Ida Cannon successful as the first social work leader in health care.

Award Criteria

In addition to demonstrating the characteristics of candidates for all Society awards (established by the SSWLHC Board in 1981), the Ida M. Cannon recipient must be a national SSWLHC member who demonstrates:

  • Capacity and ability to lead, organize, and evaluate the effective and efficient provision of social work in the health care field.
  • Leadership in the practice of health care administration that exemplifies the skills, qualities, and ethics of social work.
  • Ability to use knowledge and experience to influence the health care system and the external environment in order to meet the psychosocial needs of patients, families, and populations. Has shown the ability to organize and transmit that knowledge and experience in a meaningful way.
  • Capacity and willingness to assist/ consult with others to develop management and leadership skills in health care.
  • Significant experience and success over time as a contributing member of the SSWLHC.

Winner Receives

  • Personalized, specially engraved award presented at the Opening Banquet dinner with five minutes to accept
  • One (1) complimentary guest ticket to the Opening Banquet dinner
  • Annual Meeting Conference Registration fee will be waived
  • Bulletin board at the conference

Previous Recipients

Year Recipient
1971Beatrice Phillips
1972Bernice C. Harper
1973Maurice V. Russell
1974John Wax
1975Helen Rehr
1976Evelyn McNamera
1977Jean M. Dockhom
1978Abraham Lurie
1979Eleanor Clark
1980Martin Nacman
1981Jayne B. Shelton
1982Barbara Henley
1983Patricia J. Vollard
1984Gary Rosenberg
1985Susan B. Baillis
1986W. June Simmons
1987Herbert J. Allen
1988Andrew Weissman
1989Lawrence C. Shulman
1990Evelyn E. Bonander
1991Robert T. Stepanek
1992Patricia Meadows
1993No Recipient
1994Susan Haikalis
1995Candyce Berger
1996Judith Trachtenberg
1997Alice Scesney
1998Greg Jensen
1999Alice Kitchen
2000No Recipient
2001Rose Popovich
2002Sona Euster
2003Ellen Perlman Simon
2004Linda Brandeis
2005Jill E. Manske
2006Mary Norris Brown
2007Mary Lou Krieger
2008Polly Jones
2009James Zabora
2010Richard Woodrow
2011Charles L. Robbins
2012Sheri Hilger
2013Stanley G. Remer
2014Margaret Meyer
2015Edward Woomer
2016Kathleen Wade
2017Carol Maxwell
2018Scott Ferguson
2019Anthony Yamamoto
2020Hallie Stone