ABH | The Foundation

ABH | The Foundation

50+ Years of Caring for the Health of our Community

ABH l The Foundation is a physician-led philanthropic organization that strives to improve the health and well-being of the community through strategic initiatives. Known as the Twin Cities Medical Society Foundation before September 2022, ABH | The Foundation was formed in 1968 with the inaugural project immunizing 735,000 Minnesota children through the Mass Rubella Immunization Project. 

Today the Foundation’s priorities are to provide funding to organizations serving the health needs of our underserved residents and engaging in activities to improve public health.

Funding for ABH | The Foundation has come through various donations, including, most notably, the legacy of Dr. Eduard Boeckmann, a man remembered for his charitable contributions to medicine and unimpeachable character to practice, and for the development of surgical catgut treated with pyoktanin. The manufacture and proceeds from this suture were donated to the Ramsey County Medical Society to support and cover the expense of a medical library. Following the library's closing, these funds were transferred to the Boeckmann Fund, maintained today by ABH | The Foundation.   

Other legacy gifts, donations in honor of or in memory of a colleague, friend, or family member, and an annual appeal to Advocates for Better Health members continue to provide the basis for grant dollar allocations.

To continue this important philanthropic work, we invite you to make a tax-deductible donation. Your contribution will support the Foundation’s mission to help local organizations improve the health and well-being of the community. If you wish to designate your gift, please include a brief note. 

Community-led initiatives grants
Each year, ABH | The Foundation provides grants to local organizations that are advancing the health of our community. We are ending another successful year striving to improve the health and well-being of the community through strategic initiatives. With generous support from donors like you, the Foundation supported eight organizations with grants totaling more than $60,000 in 2022.

Dr. Pete Dehnel Public Health Advocacy Fellowship
ABH l The Foundation believes physician advocates play an important role in improving public health and building healthy communities. The Dr. Pete Dehnel Public Health Advocacy Fellowship program offers opportunities for medical students to build their public health advocacy skills by engaging in local public health advocacy activities. Throughout the program year, students build their advocacy skills through skills training, physician mentorship, and hands-on advocacy experience. Since 2018, 117 students and 73 physician mentors have benefited from this one-of-a-kind program.

MEDICAL STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP for excellence
Since 1989, the Foundation has awarded an annual scholarship to a University of Minnesota Medical Student traditionally underrepresented in medicine - including Black, Indigenous, people of color, LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities - for excellence in leadership, service, and advocacy in health care. The 2022 ABH | The Foundation Medical Student Scholarship Recipient is Amarachi Orakwue, MS1.

charles bolles bolles-rogers award
First awarded in 1952, candidates for the Charles Bolles Bolles-Rogers Award are nominated by their colleagues at Twin Cities area hospitals and clinics for contributions to medical research, achievement, or leadership in medicine. Two physicians received this honor in 2022 - Ellen Coffey, MD, an internist at Hennepin Health, and William Wheeler, MD, a pediatric pulmonologist from Children’s Respiratory and Critical Care.