Kevin M. Spiegel
Marilyn Vincent
Angel Moore
Bill Crowe
Four leaders with the Erlanger Health System were honored at the Tennessee Hospital Association’s and American College of Healthcare Executives’ annual conferences in Nashville last week. The Tennessee Hospital Association is comprised of 169 members throughout the state, including health systems, hospitals and home health agencies.
Erlanger leaders received awards in three of the 18 recognition categories by THA on Friday: the “Meritorious Service Award for a CEO”, the “Meritorious Service Award for a Volunteer” and the “Executive Nurse of Distinction” Award. The ACHE conferred five awards during the same conference, with another Erlanger executive receiving one of those awards for “Excellence in Diversity.”
The Meritorious Award for CEO was presented to Kevin M. Spiegel, FACHE, president and CEO of the Erlanger Health System, for his efforts in achieving an unprecedented financial turnaround of Erlanger in a short period of time. Lauded as a visionary during the ceremony, Mr. Spiegel was recognized by THA for increasing Erlanger’s net revenue by 51 percent and for investing $216 million of capital into the Chattanooga-based health system. Under his leadership, the Erlanger health system will soon include an 88-bed behavioral health hospital, a new Children’s Hospital Outpatient Center and a new Erlanger Cancer Center and Physician Office Building at its Erlanger East Hospital campus.
THA’s Meritorious Award in the Volunteer division was awarded to Marilyn Vincent, a volunteer and coordinator for the “No One Dies Alone” program at Erlanger. Ms. Vincent was one of the first volunteers trained to hold vigil with patients in their final hours. Today, Ms. Vincent is the first person contacted when this service is needed, and coordinates all the volunteers and staff who stand watch with patients whose family members are unable to be at their side, or who have no family. Ms. Vincent has provided more than 2,500 hours of service over the past 12 years as an Erlanger volunteer.
This year’s “THA Nurse of Distinction Clinical Award” went to William “Bill” Crowe, JR, DNP, FACHE. This annual award recognizes outstanding contributions to nursing by registered nurses. Dr. Crowe was honored for being an exceptional example of a nurse practitioner and administrator who provides world-class care. He has performed over 600 hours of continuing education classes and participated in over 40 committees throughout his tenure at Erlanger.
Angel Moore was awarded the inaugural ACHE “Excellence in Diversity” award for her work as CEO of two Erlanger Community Health Centers. Ms. Moore was recognized for advancing diversity by actively engaging an underserved patient population in order to advance their health and lifestyle choices. She has also recruited and engaged a diverse staff of caregivers and support personnel, and partnered with other mission-oriented organizations to improve the communities she serves.
During THA’s annual awards ceremonies, Jan Keys, DNP, FACHE, chief nursing executive for Erlanger, was also recognized for her leadership role and work with the Tennessee Organization of Nursing Executives. T.O.N.E aims to advance and further develop effective nursing leadership and quality nursing care by providing a medium for the interchange of ideas and dissemination of information, a voice to address current issues and trends that impact healthcare, promote educational programs and act as a catalyst for promoting standards of care and nursing practice.
In addition, 14 Erlanger clinical and specialist associates represented the Chattanooga-based health system during the annual THA Leadership Summit presentations. The Leadership Summit highlights Tennessee hospitals and health systems’ successful strategies to create a culture for performance excellence and improve patient outcomes. These presentations from hospital representatives across Tennessee featured patient safety and best practice for quality improvement. Over the last year, Erlanger has implemented new protocols successfully improving patient care and work flows, said officials. Presentation topics included strategies for decreasing fall rates, telemetry monitoring, emergency department patient flow, coordinated care, post-op cardiothoracic protocols, preventing poor infant outcomes, improving longevity of breastfeeding, divergence of nursing students and faculty cohorts, and walking in patients’ shoes.