PHILADELPHIA — Jack Ludmir, MD, chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Pennsylvania Hospital, and professor and vice chair of Obstetrics and Penn Medicine, has been named the 2013 Roosevelt Award for Services to Humanity Honoree by the March of Dimes (MOD), Southeastern Pennsylvania Division.
The Roosevelt Award for Service to Humanity recognizes an individual who exemplifies commitment to the community through volunteer service and excellence in his or her field. “Dr. Ludmir is one of our strongest advocates in the Philadelphia region and we are honored to highlight his accomplishments and remarkable leadership on behalf of the families of the Southeast Pennsylvania region,” said Amanda Young, executive director, MOD, Southeast PA Division. “Through his leadership, vision, ability to foster solutions, and lifetime commitment to improving the practice of obstetrics, he is the embodiment of what this award represents.”
Dr. Ludmir is specifically being honored for his commitments to local and national collaborations to improve birth outcomes, sharing his extensive clinical experience with underdeveloped regions, and serving under-resourced and vulnerable populations.
A graduate of Temple University School of Medicine, Dr. Ludmir completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. A dedicated clinician and educator, Dr. Ludmir has taught for the past 26 years. He spent the first five years of his career on the faculty of Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and the next six at Harvard University before coming back to Penn where he has been for the past 15 years.
Dr. Ludmir’s clinical and research areas of interest include: high-risk pregnancy, cervical function and preterm labor, medical complications of pregnancy, and prenatal care for vulnerable populations. His research in the prevention of premature births has been supported by the March of Dimes.
A strong advocate for making high quality care available to vulnerable populations, such as the undeserved and uninsured in the Philadelphia region, Dr. Ludmir is the President of Women and Children’s Health Services, a not-for-profit organization devoted to the care of women in the surrounding community. He is a founder of Puentes de Salud and Latina Community Health Services, which provide free care to uninsured immigrants. He also received the 2012 “Spirit of Motherhood” award by the Maternity Care Coalition for his commitment to promoting health and awareness in the lives of mothers, infants and families of the Greater Philadelphia region.
Dr. Ludmir is currently the Past Chair of the Governing Council of Maternal and Child Health for the American Hospital Association and is a member of multiple American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) committees. His interests also extend to Latin America where he was coordinator for the Dominican Republic Section of ACOG, and is an evaluator of the standards and quality of maternity care in Latin America. He has established formal relationships with universities in both Latin America and Botswana to improve the care of women, including exchange programs involving residents and attending physicians. In recognition for these services he received the Outstanding District Service Award from ACOG and has received several honorary degrees from Latin American universities.
Dr. Ludmir was also awarded Penn’s Alfred Stengel Health System Champion Award for improving and transforming obstetrical services throughout the University of Pennsylvania Health System, ensuring a patient’s right to prenatal care. In the past decade he has been consistently recognized by Best Doctors of America, as a Top Doctor by U.S. News and World Report, andas a Top Doc by Philadelphia Magazine.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
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