Helen Hershfield Avnet '35 and Jean Avnet Morse

Helen Hershfield Avnet '35 (1915-1974) was a pioneer in the field of medical economics who broke new ground with her research and helped launch community based non-profit health insurance to protect people from financial misfortune caused by accident or illness. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Helen participated in the founding of Group Health Insurance Inc. (GHI) and later headed its research department. Group Health eventually merged to become Emblem Health Insurance—one of the country's largest nonprofit providers today—which serves over 3 million people.

Helen's research and analysis established that psychiatric care and dental care could be insured and provided data to improve the quality and availability of health care. Her influential publications include: Psychiatric Insurance: Financing Short-term Ambulatory Treatment, 1962; Insured Dental Care: A Research Project Report, 1967; and Physician Service Patterns and Illness Rates: A Research Report on Medical Data Retrieved from Insurance Records, 1967.

Wishing to honor her mother, Helen's daughter Jean Avnet Morse reached out to Barnard in gratitude for its help in shaping Helen's lifelong interests. After careful consideration, Jean chose Barnard as a beneficiary of a gift in her will. Her generosity will fund internship awards to students who are interested in public health. Through this gift, Jean will leave a loving legacy in tribute to her mother, an influential figure who helped enable Americans to have greater access health care.