Program terms & conditions
TIME Healthcare Champion of the Year, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson
Official contest rules and terms and conditions
1. About the Award
The TIME Healthcare Champion of the Year, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson (the “Award”), is a branded recognition sponsored by Johnson & Johnson in partnership with TIME. The Award honors an individual healthcare professional, currently employed in the United States, actively involved in healthcare or care delivery and in good professional standing,whose leadership and impact are shaping the future of health. Johnson & Johnson is responsible for administering the nomination, review and selection process for the Award (the “Contest”). TIME supports the Award through branded content, promotion and recognition activities. The Award is not an independent TIME editorial award.
No purchase, payment or donation is necessary to submit a nomination or be selected. A purchase, payment or donation will not increase any nominee’s chances of being selected. There is no cost to submit a nomination.
The Contest will engage a judging panel of eight voting members, including four non-commercial representatives from Johnson & Johnson and the Johnson & Johnson Foundation and four independent healthcare representatives. The judging panel will evaluate nominees based on the following criteria: (a) grit, including leadership, resilience and determination in pursuing solutions to complex healthcare challenges; (b) innovation, including meaningful improvements to care delivery through new approaches, systems change, science or technology; and (c) care, including compassion, trust and personalized care that improves the patient experience.The judging panel will complete a rank choice vote to establish a shortlist of three finalists and one winner.
2. Eligibility
Eligible nominees must be individual healthcare professionals who are currently employed in the United States,actively involved in healthcare or care delivery and in good professional standing. For purposes of these rules, “good professional standing” means the nominee is legally permitted to perform their professional duties; is not excluded, suspended, debarred or otherwise subject to any professional, legal, regulatory or compliance restriction that would prevent participation in the Award.Organizations, institutions, departments and teams are not eligible to be nominated.
Eligible nominees may work across a range of care-focused roles, including but not limited to physicians, nurses, advanced practice clinicians, surgeons, community health workers, care coordinators and patient navigators. Nominees may be at any stage of their career, provided they are actively involved in care delivery.
Eligible nominees may work in settings including but not limited to hospitals, health systems, clinics, outpatient care centers, community health programs, nonprofits, academic or teaching institutions with active clinical practice, care coordination settings, patient navigation roles or community-based care settings.
Employees of Johnson & Johnson and TIME, and their immediate family members, are not eligible to be nominated or to submit nominations. For purposes of these rules, “immediate family member” means a spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, step-child, step-sibling, in-law or any person living in the same household.
Government-employed healthcare professionals may be eligible to be nominated if they are actively engaged in care delivery and meet all Award criteria and are in good professional standing. Government employees, public sector employees and employees of public hospitals, public universities or other public institutions are responsible for confirming that their participation, nomination, recognition, publicity activities, travel support and attendance at any event are permitted under applicable laws, regulations, ethics rules and employer policies. Johnson & Johnson may request written confirmation of any required ethics or compliance approval.
3. How to submit a nomination
Nominations open in July 2026 and close in August 2026. The shortlist is expected to be announced Fall 2026. The TIME+ Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Champion of the Year is expected to be announced in late November or early December 2026, in advance of recognition at A Year in TIME Event on December 9, 2026 in New York City. Exact dates to be posted here.
All nominations must be submitted through the official nomination form available at https://www.jnj.com/healthcare-champion-of-the-year/nomination. Nominations submitted through any other method will not be considered.
Nominations may be submitted by third parties, including colleagues, leaders, patients, community members or others who can speak to the nominee’s impact. Self-nominations are also permitted. Self-nominations and third-party nominations will be evaluated equally.
Third-party nominators must have the nominee’s consent before submitting a nomination. By submitting a nomination for someone else, the nominator confirms that the nominee has agreed to be nominated and has given permission for the nominator to share the nominee’s information as part of the Contest.
Following submission of a nomination, Johnson & Johnson or its representatives may contact the nominee to confirm consent, eligibility and willingness to participate. Any nominee who does not provide written consent or required information within the time frame specified may be removed from consideration.
The application may request basic information about the nominee and nominator; short written responses describing the nominee’s work, impact and outcomes; a CV or résumé for the nominee; and an optional written testimonial from a colleague, patient, community member or other person who can speak to the nominee’s impact on care in the communities they serve.
Written responses should focus on what drives the nominee’s work in healthcare; a clear example of grit, innovation or care; tangible outcomes or results, such as people reached, access improved or systems changed; and why the nominee’s work matters now.
4. Submission content and privacy
Nominations must not include patient-identifying information, protected health information, confidential medical information or any other information that could directly or indirectly identify a patient, patient family member or caregiver, or otherwise violate privacy laws, medical confidentiality rules or employer policies.Patient stories, examples and testimonials must be fully anonymized and should be described only at a general level. Submissions that include patient-identifiable information or other prohibited patient details will be rejected and will not be processed, reviewed or advanced in the Contest.
Nominations also must not include confidential business information, trade secrets, private information about third parties, false or misleading statements, defamatory content, offensive content, unlawful content, copyrighted materials used without permission or any content that violates the rights of another person or organization.
Nominations must not include promotional claims, off-label claims or unsupported claims about any medicine, medical device, treatment, product or service. The Award is intended to recognize healthcare professionals and their impact. It is not intended to promote, recommend or endorse any specific healthcare product, treatment, medical decision or provider. Nominations must not include promotional claims, off-label claims or unsupported claims about any medicine, medical device, treatment, product or service from Johnson & Johnson. Use of any Johnson & Johnson product, medicine, medical device or service does not influence eligibility, review, selection or recognition for the Award.
A nomination may be rejected, disqualified or removed from further processing if it includes patient-identifiable information or raises ethics, compliance, privacy, legal, regulatory, reputational or eligibility concerns, or if Johnson & Johnson determines that the nomination does not meet these rules or the purpose of the Award.
Personal information collected through the Contest will be used for Contest administration, eligibility review, judging, due diligence, nominee consent, finalist and winner notification, publicity, content production, event planning, travel coordination and other purposes related to the Award. Applicable data privacy laws apply.
By participating in the Contest,nominators and nominees agree that Johnson & Johnson, TIME and their respective representatives may contact them about the nomination and the Award. Personal information may be shared with reviewers, judges, vendors, agencies, production partners, event partners, background-check providers and other parties involved in administering or supporting the Contest and Award.
5. Review and selection
A judging panel composed of healthcare experts will evaluate eligible nominees based on the Award criteria. Final selection is made by the judging panel of eight voting members, including four non-commercial representatives from Johnson & Johnson and the Johnson & Johnson Foundation and four independent healthcare representatives. The judging panel will complete a rank choice vote to establish a shortlist of three finalists and one winner.
Nominees will be evaluated based on the following criteria: (a) grit, including leadership, resilience and determination in pursuing solutions to complex healthcare challenges; (b) innovation, including meaningful improvements to care delivery through new approaches, systems change, science or technology; and (c) care, including compassion, trust and personalized care that improves the patient experience.
Judges evaluate nominees across six weighted criteria given the nomination submission, including:
Johnson & Johnson may review nominations for completeness, eligibility, accuracy and compliance. Johnson & Johnson may also conduct due diligence, background checks, public records searches, reference checks, employer verification, credential verification or other review steps before naming finalists or selecting a winner.
All decisions are final. Due to the expected volume of submissions, individual feedback will not be provided.
6. Finalists, winner and recognition
Finalists are expected to be announced publicly in Fall 2026. Finalists may be asked to provide additional information, confirm eligibility, sign releases, participate in publicity activities and confirm any required employer, ethics or compliance approvals.
One finalist will be selected as the Healthcare Champion of the Year. The selected honoree is expected to be recognized in late November or early December 2026, in advance of A Year in TIME Event on December 9, 2026 in New York City.
The selected honoree is expected to receive recognition that may include a full-day photo and video shoot with TIME Studios onsite at the honoree’s facility or another approved location that will be featured in TIME Studios x J&J custom content; a custom branded digital cover portrait; a custom branded feature in the TIME Person of the Year issue of TIME Magazine; and an invitation to attend A Year in TIME in New York City with one guest.Reasonable travel support may be provided by Johnson & Johnson if needed and if permitted by applicable laws, regulations, ethics rules and employer policies.
Attendance at A Year in TIME Event is encouraged but subject to scheduling, travel, safety, ethics, compliance and logistical considerations. Details about travel and event participation will be shared directly with the selected honoree. Travel support will be provided by J&J if needed.
The selected honoree and guest are responsible for any tax obligations that may apply to travel support, event attendance or recognition received in connection with the Award.
7. Publicity and use of materials
Except where prohibited by law, finalists and the selected honoree grant Johnson & Johnson, TIME and their respective affiliates, agencies, vendors, production partners, media partners and representatives the right to use their name, likeness, photograph, image, voice, biographical information, employer name, title, statements, interviews and submitted materials for promotional, advertising, publicity, social media, website, video, print, event and other Award-related purposes. There is no additional compensation for this use.
A nominee may opt out of certain publicity activities by providing written notice to Johnson & Johnson. However, nominees who opt out of required finalist or winner publicity activities may be removed from consideration if those activities are necessary to the Award.
8. Compliance and conduct
No part of the Contest, Award, recognition, travel support, event invitation or related benefit is intended as, and should not be understood as, an improper payment, inducement, reward or thing of value provided to influence any business, purchasing, prescribing, referral, formulary, reimbursement, regulatory, policy, clinical or professional decision.
Johnson & Johnson may cancel, suspend or modify the Contest or Award in its sole discretion, including if fraud, technical issues, legal or compliance concerns, safety concerns, public health issues, event changes or other circumstances affect the administration, fairness, integrity or operation of the Contest or Award.
9. Liability and governing law
Johnson & Johnson and TIME disclaim liability for: (a) technical failures; (b) lost, late, incomplete, inaccurate, misdirected or unsuccessful nominations; (c) unauthorized access to or use of submissions; (d) travel delays, cancellations or disruptions; (e) event changes or cancellations; (f) personal injury or property damage related to participation, travel, event attendance or publicity activities; or (g) circumstances beyond their reasonable control.
Participants waive any claims for consequential, incidental, special, punitive or exemplary damages arising out of or related to the Contest or Award.
The Contest and Award are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey, United States, without regard to conflict of laws principles.
10. Questions
Questions about the Contest or Award may be sent to JJCareCommunity@ITS.JNJ.COM.
Official contest rules and terms and conditions
1. About the Award
The TIME Healthcare Champion of the Year, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson (the “Award”), is a branded recognition sponsored by Johnson & Johnson in partnership with TIME. The Award honors an individual healthcare professional, currently employed in the United States, actively involved in healthcare or care delivery and in good professional standing,whose leadership and impact are shaping the future of health. Johnson & Johnson is responsible for administering the nomination, review and selection process for the Award (the “Contest”). TIME supports the Award through branded content, promotion and recognition activities. The Award is not an independent TIME editorial award.
No purchase, payment or donation is necessary to submit a nomination or be selected. A purchase, payment or donation will not increase any nominee’s chances of being selected. There is no cost to submit a nomination.
The Contest will engage a judging panel of eight voting members, including four non-commercial representatives from Johnson & Johnson and the Johnson & Johnson Foundation and four independent healthcare representatives. The judging panel will evaluate nominees based on the following criteria: (a) grit, including leadership, resilience and determination in pursuing solutions to complex healthcare challenges; (b) innovation, including meaningful improvements to care delivery through new approaches, systems change, science or technology; and (c) care, including compassion, trust and personalized care that improves the patient experience.The judging panel will complete a rank choice vote to establish a shortlist of three finalists and one winner.
2. Eligibility
Eligible nominees must be individual healthcare professionals who are currently employed in the United States,actively involved in healthcare or care delivery and in good professional standing. For purposes of these rules, “good professional standing” means the nominee is legally permitted to perform their professional duties; is not excluded, suspended, debarred or otherwise subject to any professional, legal, regulatory or compliance restriction that would prevent participation in the Award.Organizations, institutions, departments and teams are not eligible to be nominated.
Eligible nominees may work across a range of care-focused roles, including but not limited to physicians, nurses, advanced practice clinicians, surgeons, community health workers, care coordinators and patient navigators. Nominees may be at any stage of their career, provided they are actively involved in care delivery.
Eligible nominees may work in settings including but not limited to hospitals, health systems, clinics, outpatient care centers, community health programs, nonprofits, academic or teaching institutions with active clinical practice, care coordination settings, patient navigation roles or community-based care settings.
Employees of Johnson & Johnson and TIME, and their immediate family members, are not eligible to be nominated or to submit nominations. For purposes of these rules, “immediate family member” means a spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, step-child, step-sibling, in-law or any person living in the same household.
Government-employed healthcare professionals may be eligible to be nominated if they are actively engaged in care delivery and meet all Award criteria and are in good professional standing. Government employees, public sector employees and employees of public hospitals, public universities or other public institutions are responsible for confirming that their participation, nomination, recognition, publicity activities, travel support and attendance at any event are permitted under applicable laws, regulations, ethics rules and employer policies. Johnson & Johnson may request written confirmation of any required ethics or compliance approval.
3. How to submit a nomination
Nominations open in July 2026 and close in August 2026. The shortlist is expected to be announced Fall 2026. The TIME+ Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Champion of the Year is expected to be announced in late November or early December 2026, in advance of recognition at A Year in TIME Event on December 9, 2026 in New York City. Exact dates to be posted here.
All nominations must be submitted through the official nomination form available at https://www.jnj.com/healthcare-champion-of-the-year/nomination. Nominations submitted through any other method will not be considered.
Nominations may be submitted by third parties, including colleagues, leaders, patients, community members or others who can speak to the nominee’s impact. Self-nominations are also permitted. Self-nominations and third-party nominations will be evaluated equally.
Third-party nominators must have the nominee’s consent before submitting a nomination. By submitting a nomination for someone else, the nominator confirms that the nominee has agreed to be nominated and has given permission for the nominator to share the nominee’s information as part of the Contest.
Following submission of a nomination, Johnson & Johnson or its representatives may contact the nominee to confirm consent, eligibility and willingness to participate. Any nominee who does not provide written consent or required information within the time frame specified may be removed from consideration.
The application may request basic information about the nominee and nominator; short written responses describing the nominee’s work, impact and outcomes; a CV or résumé for the nominee; and an optional written testimonial from a colleague, patient, community member or other person who can speak to the nominee’s impact on care in the communities they serve.
Written responses should focus on what drives the nominee’s work in healthcare; a clear example of grit, innovation or care; tangible outcomes or results, such as people reached, access improved or systems changed; and why the nominee’s work matters now.
4. Submission content and privacy
Nominations must not include patient-identifying information, protected health information, confidential medical information or any other information that could directly or indirectly identify a patient, patient family member or caregiver, or otherwise violate privacy laws, medical confidentiality rules or employer policies.Patient stories, examples and testimonials must be fully anonymized and should be described only at a general level. Submissions that include patient-identifiable information or other prohibited patient details will be rejected and will not be processed, reviewed or advanced in the Contest.
Nominations also must not include confidential business information, trade secrets, private information about third parties, false or misleading statements, defamatory content, offensive content, unlawful content, copyrighted materials used without permission or any content that violates the rights of another person or organization.
Nominations must not include promotional claims, off-label claims or unsupported claims about any medicine, medical device, treatment, product or service. The Award is intended to recognize healthcare professionals and their impact. It is not intended to promote, recommend or endorse any specific healthcare product, treatment, medical decision or provider. Nominations must not include promotional claims, off-label claims or unsupported claims about any medicine, medical device, treatment, product or service from Johnson & Johnson. Use of any Johnson & Johnson product, medicine, medical device or service does not influence eligibility, review, selection or recognition for the Award.
A nomination may be rejected, disqualified or removed from further processing if it includes patient-identifiable information or raises ethics, compliance, privacy, legal, regulatory, reputational or eligibility concerns, or if Johnson & Johnson determines that the nomination does not meet these rules or the purpose of the Award.
Personal information collected through the Contest will be used for Contest administration, eligibility review, judging, due diligence, nominee consent, finalist and winner notification, publicity, content production, event planning, travel coordination and other purposes related to the Award. Applicable data privacy laws apply.
By participating in the Contest,nominators and nominees agree that Johnson & Johnson, TIME and their respective representatives may contact them about the nomination and the Award. Personal information may be shared with reviewers, judges, vendors, agencies, production partners, event partners, background-check providers and other parties involved in administering or supporting the Contest and Award.
5. Review and selection
A judging panel composed of healthcare experts will evaluate eligible nominees based on the Award criteria. Final selection is made by the judging panel of eight voting members, including four non-commercial representatives from Johnson & Johnson and the Johnson & Johnson Foundation and four independent healthcare representatives. The judging panel will complete a rank choice vote to establish a shortlist of three finalists and one winner.
Nominees will be evaluated based on the following criteria: (a) grit, including leadership, resilience and determination in pursuing solutions to complex healthcare challenges; (b) innovation, including meaningful improvements to care delivery through new approaches, systems change, science or technology; and (c) care, including compassion, trust and personalized care that improves the patient experience.
Judges evaluate nominees across six weighted criteria given the nomination submission, including:
- Impact & Outcomes (30%), focusing on measurable improvements in healthcare, patient outcomes, access, or community engagement and the significance of the nominee’s contribution.
- Focus areas:Grit & Leadership (20%),Innovation & Advancement (20%), and Care & Patient-Centeredness (20%), looking for resilience, leadership, meaningful innovation, and exceptional compassion in serving patients.
- Community & Engagement (5%)evaluates how nominees elevate others, engage their communities, and create broader positive change.
- Testimonials (5%)considers the strength and consistency of endorsements from patients, peers, and community members, reflecting the nominee’s trust, leadership, and overall influence.
Johnson & Johnson may review nominations for completeness, eligibility, accuracy and compliance. Johnson & Johnson may also conduct due diligence, background checks, public records searches, reference checks, employer verification, credential verification or other review steps before naming finalists or selecting a winner.
All decisions are final. Due to the expected volume of submissions, individual feedback will not be provided.
6. Finalists, winner and recognition
Finalists are expected to be announced publicly in Fall 2026. Finalists may be asked to provide additional information, confirm eligibility, sign releases, participate in publicity activities and confirm any required employer, ethics or compliance approvals.
One finalist will be selected as the Healthcare Champion of the Year. The selected honoree is expected to be recognized in late November or early December 2026, in advance of A Year in TIME Event on December 9, 2026 in New York City.
The selected honoree is expected to receive recognition that may include a full-day photo and video shoot with TIME Studios onsite at the honoree’s facility or another approved location that will be featured in TIME Studios x J&J custom content; a custom branded digital cover portrait; a custom branded feature in the TIME Person of the Year issue of TIME Magazine; and an invitation to attend A Year in TIME in New York City with one guest.Reasonable travel support may be provided by Johnson & Johnson if needed and if permitted by applicable laws, regulations, ethics rules and employer policies.
Attendance at A Year in TIME Event is encouraged but subject to scheduling, travel, safety, ethics, compliance and logistical considerations. Details about travel and event participation will be shared directly with the selected honoree. Travel support will be provided by J&J if needed.
The selected honoree and guest are responsible for any tax obligations that may apply to travel support, event attendance or recognition received in connection with the Award.
7. Publicity and use of materials
Except where prohibited by law, finalists and the selected honoree grant Johnson & Johnson, TIME and their respective affiliates, agencies, vendors, production partners, media partners and representatives the right to use their name, likeness, photograph, image, voice, biographical information, employer name, title, statements, interviews and submitted materials for promotional, advertising, publicity, social media, website, video, print, event and other Award-related purposes. There is no additional compensation for this use.
A nominee may opt out of certain publicity activities by providing written notice to Johnson & Johnson. However, nominees who opt out of required finalist or winner publicity activities may be removed from consideration if those activities are necessary to the Award.
8. Compliance and conduct
No part of the Contest, Award, recognition, travel support, event invitation or related benefit is intended as, and should not be understood as, an improper payment, inducement, reward or thing of value provided to influence any business, purchasing, prescribing, referral, formulary, reimbursement, regulatory, policy, clinical or professional decision.
Johnson & Johnson may cancel, suspend or modify the Contest or Award in its sole discretion, including if fraud, technical issues, legal or compliance concerns, safety concerns, public health issues, event changes or other circumstances affect the administration, fairness, integrity or operation of the Contest or Award.
9. Liability and governing law
Johnson & Johnson and TIME disclaim liability for: (a) technical failures; (b) lost, late, incomplete, inaccurate, misdirected or unsuccessful nominations; (c) unauthorized access to or use of submissions; (d) travel delays, cancellations or disruptions; (e) event changes or cancellations; (f) personal injury or property damage related to participation, travel, event attendance or publicity activities; or (g) circumstances beyond their reasonable control.
Participants waive any claims for consequential, incidental, special, punitive or exemplary damages arising out of or related to the Contest or Award.
The Contest and Award are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey, United States, without regard to conflict of laws principles.
10. Questions
Questions about the Contest or Award may be sent to JJCareCommunity@ITS.JNJ.COM.