John P. May, M.D., chief medical officer at Armor Correctional Health Services, received the University of Notre Dame’s 2017 Dr. Thomas A. Dooley Award in recognition of his work to provide medical care to prisoners around the world. This award honors a Notre Dame graduate who has exhibited outstanding service to humankind. Dr. May graduated from the university in 1984.
(L-R): Dolly Duffy, Executive Director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association; John P. May, M.D., recipient of the University’s 2017 Dr. Thomas A. Dooley Award; Bob Cronin, President of the Notre Dame Alumni Association Board of Directors
In 2005, Dr. May co-founded Health through Walls, a nonprofit organization that provides health-care services in the prisons of low-income countries. Today it is one of the few non-governmental organizations working in this area. Over the years, Health through Walls has aided tens of thousands of prisoners in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Romania, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania.
“The work of Health through Walls seeks to bring health care to some of the harshest environments on earth,” Dr. May said upon receiving the award. “I am so grateful to the board of the University of Notre Dame’s Alumni Association for this incredible honor which recognizes the dignity of each human being.”
After graduating from Notre Dame, May received his medical degree from the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois, followed by an international health fellowship in Ghana. He completed his medical residency at the Cook County Hospital in 1992 and began work as a physician in the Cook County Jail. Since then, he has worked continuously in jail and prison health care and his expertise is recognized internationally.
In 2001, Dr. May traveled to Haiti after watching a 60 Minutes program covering the country’s desperate prison conditions and soon began making monthly volunteer trips. By 2005, his work expanded to other countries and he co-founded Health through Walls. In 2006, his work was recognized with a Special Service Award from the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, and in 2013 it was highlighted on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Dr. May started with Armor Correctional Health Services in 2004. The company delivers health care to more than 40,000 patient-inmates in eight states.
About Armor Correctional Health Services, Inc.
Armor Correctional Health Services, Inc. is a 100 percent minority-owned and physician-owned company. Armor provides high quality comprehensive medical, mental health, dental and pharmaceutical services for jails and prisons nationwide. Additional information can be found at www.armorcorrectional.com.
