LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) announced its 2023 awards recognizing several individuals and programs on June 29 during its Annual Membership Meeting on Mackinac Island.
Henry Ford Kingswood Hospital received the MHA Advancing Safe Care Award, recognizing a dedicated team that created and maintained an inpatient psychiatric unit for patients who tested positive for COVID-19. The unit provided uninterrupted inpatient psychiatric care and ensured the care remained equitable to that given in the non-COVID units. The unit met all Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for healthcare isolation and provided patients with continued access to psychiatric providers, social work and activity therapists, group therapy and an interactive milieu. As a result of this unit, the COVID-positive patients avoided an estimated additional stay of at least three to five days in the hospital. Additional details.
Nancy Susick, MSN, RN, NE-BC, FACHE, chief operating officer, acute & post-acute care, Corewell Health East, and Rudolph Valentini, MD, chief medical officer, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and group chief medical officer, Detroit Medical Center, received the MHA Healthcare Leadership Award. The award honors outstanding individuals who have provided exceptional leadership to healthcare organizations and to the health and well-being of the community. Susick’s career with Corewell Health East (formerly Beaumont Health) spans four decades, including being the first female and the first nurse to serve as president of a Beaumont hospital, while also playing an integral role in Beaumont Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and leading significant infrastructure projects to expand access to healthcare services. Dr. Valentini, a pediatric nephrologist, co-founded the Vasculitis Clinic dedicated to children with autoimmune diseases that affect the kidneys and other organs, started an outpatient nephrology clinic to increase access to care for patients, redesigned the Hemodialysis Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Michigan to minimize school absences for patients, and exhibited leadership instrumental in responding to both the 2022 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional details.
The MHA awarded three hospital programs the 2023 MHA Ludwig Community Benefit Award, which is presented to member organizations integrally involved in collaborative programs to improve the health and well-being of area residents. Henry Ford Health, Detroit, partnered with the Ruth Ellis Center, a Detroit-area social services agency serving LGBTQ+ people, to create two collaborative Health & Wellness Centers that provide integrated healthcare and social services to LGBTQ+ youth. Trinity Health Livonia is a partner in the Western Wayne Suicide Prevention Coalition, which is made up of seven school districts, seven community-based organizations and the hospital. The coalition implements a program of evidence-based behavioral health services, youth activities and education aimed at zero complete youth suicides. ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital, Adrian, created ProMedica Farms and the Veggie Mobile collaboratively with the Lenawee Health Network to improve access to fresh, affordable produce and education encouraging health lifestyles. Additional details.
The 2023 MHA Special Recognition Award recognized two individuals for their extensive contributions to healthcare. Elizabeth Hertel, director, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, and Natasha Bagdasarian, MD, MPH, FIDSA, chief medical executive, state of Michigan, were recognized for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and support of Michigan hospitals. Hertel was a critical part of Michigan’s COVID response, leading work to expand hospital resources, provide access to the COVID-19 vaccine for Michigan residents and assure equitable distribution and issuing public health orders to slow the rate of infection, particularly during times when hospitals experienced surges of patients for sustained time periods. Dr. Bagdasarian has been an important partner for hospital clinical leaders, maintaining strong engagement with the MHA and clinicians on a regular basis throughout multiple COVID-19 surges. She helped lead development of the state’s clinical strategy and mitigation efforts including testing, masking, isolation and quarantine. She also developed the state’s “Response, Recovery, Readiness” cycle and guidance for schools and other organizations, as well as consulted on COVID-19 testing programs that helped Michiganders access over-the-counter testing. Additional details.
The MHA Meritorious Service Award, the association’s highest achievement award, was bestowed in 2023 on Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing). She was honored for her support for expanding healthcare access throughout her decades in elected office, including her support of the MI Child program, community health centers, Medicare, behavioral health and rural health initiatives and the COVID-19 pandemic. Stabenow announced earlier this year she will not be seeking an additional term in office in 2024. Stabenow was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, following her service as an elected official in the U.S. House of Representatives, Michigan Legislature and in county-level politics. Additional details.
About the MHABased in greater Lansing, the MHA advocates in Michigan and Washington, DC, on behalf of healthcare providers and the communities and patients they serve. The MHA is a nationally recognized leader on initiatives that protect and promote quality, cost-effective and accessible healthcare. To learn more, visit www.mha.org or follow the MHA on Facebook and Twitter.
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