About Aequitas Health

Our Story

From one medical school to a national movement

In 2021, a group of academic physicians at the University of South Dakota asked a question no one had answered: Why wasn't there a national medical honor society that recognized students for what they actually did in their communities — not just their test scores or their bedside manner, but their willingness to act?

Alpha Omega Alpha recognizes academic achievement. The Gold Humanism Honor Society recognizes compassion. Aequitas Health was built to recognize something neither of them do: action. Every fellow completes a project that addresses a real health need in a real community.

What started at one medical school in the northern Great Plains now spans 11 chapters across 11 states. The model is simple: $100 per year for the chapter, $0 for the students, and every leader serves without compensation.

"250+ medical students. 11 chapters. Every project addresses a real need in a real community."

Milestones

2021 — 2026

2021

Founded

First chapter established at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine. First fellows inducted. Aequitas Health Journal launches.

2022

Multi-State Launch

Multi-state expansion across the Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest. Journal publishes first peer-reviewed reflections and project reports.

2023

McNulty Catalyst Award

Honored with the John P. McNulty Prize through the McNulty Foundation — recognizing organizations leveraging talent to create meaningful change. Chapters expand to New England and the West Coast.

2023–24

National Conference Launches

First annual National Aequitas Health Conference. 200+ fellows inducted across the network. Conference becomes the flagship platform for fellow scholarship and community impact.

2024–25

Grants, Awards & Continued Growth

Launch of competitive grant program funding chapter and fellow projects. Second annual conference with distinguished speakers from academic medicine, health systems, and industry. 11 active chapters across 11 states.

2026

Website Relaunch

Aequitas Health website relaunch — rebuilt from the ground up with a new design, fellow resources hub, and comprehensive conference library.

Our Pillars

Service · Recognition · Scholarship · Community

Service

Fellows run free clinics, build opioid-response programs, and launch vision screenings in communities where access to care is limited or absent. Every project starts by listening to what a community actually needs — then building something that lasts beyond a single academic year.

Recognition

The top 5–10% of each class are honored with a lifetime fellowship credential. Aequitas seeks every opportunity to highlight, elevate, and advance fellows who are leading on health equity.

Scholarship

Fellow work can be published in the Aequitas Health Journal, presented at the annual National Conference, and is eligible for competitive grants — building the evidence base for better care and showing others what's possible.

Community

A growing network of fellows, faculty, and chapters building on each other's work. Every patient deserves a fair opportunity to be healthy — fellows work where the gaps are widest, in rural, urban, and tribal communities.

The Fellowship

What fellows receive

Every Aequitas Health Fellow receives a lifetime fellowship — free, with no dues or fees, ever.

Honor Society Certificate & Cord

Formal recognition from the national organization, plus a distinctive graduation cord for commencement.

Journal Publication

Publish research, reflections, and creative work in the Aequitas Health Journal — indexed with Google Scholar metadata.

National Conference

Present your work and learn from distinguished speakers — free, virtual, and on your schedule.

Competitive Grants

Apply for project funding. In 2025, $1,500 was awarded across 3 grants for fellow and chapter projects.

Plus 10 career and project development resources. Read the full Welcome Guide →

National Leadership

Founded & Led

Benson Hsu, MD, MBA, FAAP, FCCM

Founder, President & Chair

Professor of Pediatrics at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, practicing at Avera Children's Hospital serving a predominantly rural population encompassing several Native American communities. NIH-funded researcher with 70+ peer-reviewed publications. As a pediatric critical care leader, he has authored national clinical guidelines at the American Academy of Pediatrics and Society of Critical Care Medicine. Bush Fellow, Aspen Health Innovators Fellow, and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Spends his free time building a world of Legos with his son.

Eleanor Turner, MA

Director of Operations

President and Co-Founder of The Legacy Foundation South Dakota. Works in the Office of the Dean at USD Sanford School of Medicine. MA in nonprofit management and child & adult advocacy studies. Originally from the United Kingdom, she is a published author of two dozen books, a LEND parent & family trainee graduate, and a dedicated voice for special needs families.

Three children, two fluffy cats, and a passion for cinema.

Chapter Leadership

Faculty advisors and student leaders at every chapter

Each of our 11 chapters is led by a faculty advisor — typically a physician or professor with deep roots in their community — and a student leadership team elected by their peers. Together, they set election standards, mentor fellows, and ensure every project addresses a genuine local need.

Our chapter faculty represent academic medicine, community health, pediatrics, psychiatry, emergency medicine, and public health — a cross-section of the specialties most engaged with health disparities in their regions. Every leader serves without compensation.

Recognition

McNulty Catalyst Award

2023 Awardee

The John P. McNulty Prize recognizes leaders leveraging their talents to make a meaningful difference. Aequitas Health was honored for building a volunteer-run movement of medical students committed to improving health in their communities.

"Physicians need to work on the front lines delivering compassionate, effective care but they also need to lead fundamental change in the system and in their communities to achieve health equity."

Read our McNulty Foundation profile

It started with a question

From one medical school to a national movement