Past Winners

2005 Awards Winners

A hospital or heath plan is a complex organization that is not managed by a manager, but one that is lead by a team of leaders. No one leader, no matter how dynamic, can balance all the plates necessary to keep a provider or payor of healthcare running.

Tragically often in healthcare, managers believe that leadership comes in a matrix or a Power Point presentation. In healthcare, true leadership comes from an unwavering attachment to the mission, and teamwork is its natural byproduct.

So once a year, we at HealthLeaders magazine celebrate and recognize those in the industry who exemplify the values of teamwork and the best traditions of the healthcare industry. We have found exceptional, innovative healthcare executive teams who are quietly building and positioning their organizations to work toward success and handle setbacks.

These teams, who sometimes toil in obscurity beyond their local markets, are making tremendous progress in solving financial, management and technology challenges at their organizations.

Selecting the finalists, and the eventual winners, was a tremendously difficult task for our judges. We talked to so many leaders at organizations this year who have done really outstanding work. We hope you enjoy reading a behind-the-scenes look at just a few of the accomplishments that represent the progress we as an industry make every day.

How We Picked the winners
In early 2005, management teams responded to HealthLeaders’ call for entries. A panel of judges reviewed information the teams submitted with the official entry form and narrowed the field to three finalists in each category–Large Hospitals, Small Hospitals and Health Plans. A judge was assigned to make an on-site visit to each of the nine finalists to personally interview members of the senior leadership team.

When deciding which group would be named the HealthLeaders Media top leadership team in healthcare, the judges considered how teams worked together to overcome challenges and barriers and how that teamwork led the organization to successfully meet stated operational goals and objectives.

The Judges

Howard Berman is the former CEO of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield in Rochester, NY

L. Ann Binstock is the former Editorial Director of HealthLeaders magazine

Gordon R. Clark is president and CEO of The Governance Institute in San Diego

Laurence P. Harkness is the former president and CEO of Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio.

Dr. Nancy Linenkugel, OSF, FACHE, is president of Chatfield College in St. Martin, Ohio, and the former CEO of Providence Hospital in Sandusky, Ohio.

Scott McQuigg, is the founder of (ital)HealthLeaders(ital) magazine and former president of HealthLeaders-InterStudy.

Norman C. Payson, MD, is the former chairman and CEO of Oxford Health Plans Inc., in Trumbull, Conn.

Sheri Sellmeyer is the Director of Health Plan Analysis at HealthLeaders-Interstudy.

Jim Stokes is the former president of Quorum Health Resources in Brentwood, TN

2005 Winners and Finalists

Large Hospitals/Health Systems (170 beds or more)
Winner: MemorialCare Medical Centers, Huntington Beach, CA
Other Finalists:
Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston, WV
Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, OH

Small Hospitals (less than 170 beds)
Winner: Clearwater Valley Hospital & Clinics and St. Mary’s Hospital & Clinics, Orofino/Cottonwood, ID
Other Finalists:
Cary Medical Center, Caribou, ME
Shoshone Medical Center, Kellogg, IE

Health Plans (state or regional)
Winner: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Wellesley, MA
Other Finalists:
Community Choice Michigan, Okemos, MI
Partnership HealthPlan of California, Fairfield, CA