2014 DOCTORS’ BALL HONOREES
By: Damian “Pat” Alagia, MD
Chief Physician Executive and Chief Medical Officer, KentuckyOne Health
Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven
EPHRAIM MCDOWELL PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR
D
r. Ardis Hoven says
her career is defined
by her work with
HIV/AIDS patients in
Lexington in the late 1970’s
and early 1980’s. As an infectious disease specialist
at the Lexington Clinic, she
was one of the first physicians in central Kentucky to
see the devastating disease.
Inspired to become a doctor
by the medical missionaries
she saw as the child of a minister, Hoven’s fascination with microbiology led her to specialize in infectious disease, eventually
confronting the frustrations and setbacks of AIDS.
Treatment improved, but when fear and misinformation about
AIDS seeped into public policy, Hoven began advocating for patients.
Her focus on health care policy expanded, and Hoven rose through
the ranks to become President of the Kentucky Medical Association,
and in 2013, President of the American Medical Association, serving
as political point person for more than 200,000 doctors nationwide.
It was a natural progression from a clinic packed with patients to
the halls of the United States Capitol, where Hoven testified before
Congress dozens of times.
Dr. Alice C. Thornton, Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, cites Hoven’s ability to command
respect, speaking out on behalf of uninsured patients before that was
widely done. Traveling the country for the AMA, Hoven was often
challenged to explain the organization’s support for the Affordable
Care Act. She would argue that the needs of patients and doctors
are interconnected, and persuaded many physicians that the ACA
was, in her words, “the right thing to do.”
In her speech as outgoing AMA President, Hoven said, “If I’ve
learned anything from my days fighting HIV, it’s that giving up is
not an option.” For Hoven, who found her calling at the intersection
of medicine and politics, not giving up comes down to what’s best
for patients. “At the end of the day,” Hoven say