The Dr. Thomas A. Dooley Award - 2017: John P. May, M.D. '84

2017: John P. May, M.D. '84

For his dedication to providing medical care to prisoners around the world, John P. May, M.D. ’84, is presented with the 2017 Dr. Thomas A. Dooley Award.

After graduating from Notre Dame in 1984, May received his medical degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois, followed by an international health fellowship in Ghana. He completed a medical residency at the Cook County Hospital in 1992 and began working as a physician in the Cook County Jail. Since then, he has worked continuously in jail and prison health, and his expertise is recognized internationally.

In 2001, 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, a nonprofit organization that provides health care services in the prisons of low-income countries. 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.

Health through Walls has grown to be one of the few nongovernmental organizations in the world dedicated to meeting the health needs of prisoners in low-income countries. Over the years, it has aided tens of thousands of prisoners in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Ghana, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, and Romania.

May lives in Miami with his partner, Mark, and their two sons, Sylvester and Ellison. He is the chief medical officer for Armor Correctional Health Services. He draws inspiration and support from his parents, S. John (ND ’61) and Nancy, and their spouses and extended family.

“The work of Health through Walls seeks to bring health to some of the harshest environments on earth,” May said. “I am so grateful to the Board of the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association for this incredible honor, which is also a recognition of the dignity of each human being.”