AMERIGROUP Pays Tribute to Minority Doctors During Doctor Appreciation Month.

Business Editors

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 5, 2001

AMERIGROUP Corporation is honoring Doctors' Appreciation Month by paying tribute to prominent minority health care leaders who have contributed to the advancement of the medical field.

Overcoming centuries of racial barriers, minority doctors successfully led the battle in shaping medical history. From the days of the Revolutionary War through times of modern medicine and science, minority physicians and scientists have played an integral role in the evolution of health care. The following list represents a few examples of the many contributions that African-Americans and Hispanics have made to health care.

--Following the Revolutionary War, James Derham became the first African-American doctor and was regarded as an authority on the relationship between disease and climate.

--In 1893, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, founder of the Provident Hospital and Training School, performed the first successful open-heart operation.

--In 1906, Santiago Ramon y Cajal achieved the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for his work on the structure of the nervous system.

--In 1933, Dr. Charles R. Drew was the first African-American to receive the doctor of science degree in medicine.

--In 1959, Dr. Severo Ochoa received the Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine for the discovery of a bacterial enzyme. At the time, he was professor and chairman of the department of biochemistry at NYU.

--In 1964, Dr. Samuel L. Kountz, known for performing the first West Coast kidney transplant, made history by transplanting a kidney from mother to daughter. This was the first transplant performed on humans who were not identical twins.

--In 1966, Dr. Jane Cooke Wright was appointed associate dean of the New York Medical College, attaining the highest post ever granted to an African-American woman.

--In 1980, Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr., performed the first surgical implantation of the automatic implantable defibrillator in the human heart.

--In 1980, Cesar Milstein earned the Nobel Prize for identifying theories and techniques for immunology. His initiatives laid the basis for medical advances in cancer treatment and the detection of AIDS.

--In 1997, Dr. Paula Mahone and Dr. Karen Drake led the team of physicians who delivered the Iowa sextuplets.

By working to make a difference in the lives of the communities it serves, AMERIGROUP has become one of America's leading health care coverage companies dedicated to helping lower-income families and persons with disabilities build healthy tomorrows. The company operates health plans in four states and the District of Columbia and serves more than 330,000 Members, of which more than 75 percent are children. Visit www.amerigroupcorp.com for more information.