Virginia Mason Medical Center and its Chairman and CEO, Gary S. Kaplan, MD, have been awarded the Human Relations Award for 2009 by the American Jewish Committee.

Chapter president Moshe Dunie said the award reflects the principles of the AJC and Virginia Mason.

“AJC was founded on the principles of social justice, and health care is clearly a vital part of this agenda,” he said. “Virginia Mason, under the leadership of Dr. Kaplan, has contributed significantly in the transformation of health care with its focus on quality, access and affordability.”

Dr. Kaplan lives in Bellevue.

The award will be presented June 4 at a dinner in Seattle.

In addition to patient-care duties and serving as CEO, Dr. Kaplan is a clinical professor at the University of Washington and has been recognized for his service and contribution to many regional and national boards, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, The Medical Group Management Association, the Seattle Foundation, the National Patient Safety Foundation, the American Heart Association and the Washington Healthcare Forum.

In 2008, Dr. Kaplan was a founding member in Health CEOs for Health Reform, a national coalition of health-care leaders dedicated to transforming health care and creating a more sustainable health system. Recently, he was named 16th on Modern Physician’s annual list of the 50 Most Powerful Physician Executives for 2009. He also was named 41st on Modern Healthcare’s 2008 list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.

Dr. Kaplan has served as Chairman and CEO of Virginia Mason since 2000.