CHICAGO, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) today announced that William H. Nelson, who has served as president and CEO of Intermountain Health Care (IHC) in Salt Lake City, Utah since 1999, has been named as the first recipient of the National Healthcare Leadership Award. The Award recognizes Mr. Nelson’s leadership role at IHC and in the industry, his skills at coalition and team building, and his commitment to providing quality and affordable healthcare.
“Bill Nelson exemplifies great leadership in healthcare. He has been a driving force that has led IHC to become a model healthcare organization with sustained excellence, known for its success in improving clinical outcomes through the implementation of best medical practices,” NCHL President and CEO Marie E. Sinioris said. “With a career spanning more than 30 years in healthcare, Bill has earned a national reputation as a role model for his commitment to advancing the healthcare of the communities he serves. IHC is widely recognized in the field for providing the highest quality healthcare at the lowest possible cost.
“When we introduced the National Healthcare Leadership Award earlier in the year, our goal was to recognize that individual whose vision, passion, and commitment to healthcare have made a demonstrable difference in the delivery of care, in health policy, and in the development of future healthcare leaders. As the winner of the National Healthcare Leadership Award, Bill embodies these goals and is an inspiration to the industry’s future generations.”
Bill Nelson joined IHC in 1976 from Los Angeles where he had been a healthcare consultant for Ernst & Ernst. He was appointed senior vice president in 1982, executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1995, and president and CEO in 1999. Mr. Nelson serves on the board of many national and regional community and healthcare organizations, and he was national chairman of the Healthcare Financial Management Association in 1995- 1996. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in accounting and he earned his MBA from the University of Southern California in 1971.
“I am deeply honored by this recognition,” Mr. Nelson said. “Our organization has always functioned in teams and we are very committed to identifying future leaders and giving them the experiences they will need to lead the organization. This is integral to our process. Today I am just a surrogate representing these many, many teams at IHC.”
The selection committee for the National Healthcare Leadership Award was co-chaired by Stephen M. Shortell, PhD, Blue Cross of California Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management and Dean of School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and Richard P. Gustafson, vice chairman, Heidrick and Struggles.
“Bill Nelson helped to put together an organization that is among the nation’s leaders in quality of care and quality improvement, and has had a positive impact on community health status,” Dr. Shortell said. “He serves as a role model for other leaders in empowering organizational members to achieve stretch goals and in developing effective teams throughout the organization. Others throughout the country turn to him and his organization for guidance and advice.”
“Bill has achieved many of the things that NCHL believes a leader should achieve,” Mr. Gustafson said. “When he became CEO of IHC he assumed responsibility for a successful organization and he has sustained that excellence through his ability to develop effective teams throughout IHC.”
IHC is an integrated healthcare provider with 21 hospitals in Utah and Idaho, physician clinics, and health insurance plans. Over the years, IHC has received numerous awards and recognitions. In February Modern Healthcare named it as the nation’s top integrated health system for the fifth time in the last six years, CIO magazine honored it with its 2005 CIO 100 award for its strategic excellence in information technology, and Hospitals & Health Networks named it as one of the nation’s top 100 most technology savvy health systems. It received the Healthcare Forum/Witt Award for Commitment to Quality, the National Committee for Quality Health Care Quality Healthcare Award, the Smithsonian Comptuerworld Award, the Best of the Best Award for its commitment to high quality health plans, and it was honored by Ernst & Young with the 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Mr. Nelson will be honored on December 5, 2005 at an award event and recognition dinner at The Peninsula Chicago that is being held in conjunction with NCHL’s Symposium, Achieving Organizational Excellence with High Performing Executive Teams. At that time he will receive an original glass sculpture by Czech-born artist Martin Rosol.
The NCHL National Healthcare Leadership Award is co-sponsored by Modern Healthcare. Owens & Minor is the award event sponsor. In conjunction with the award recognition event, a special supplement of Modern Healthcare on healthcare leadership will be published.
About the National Center for Healthcare Leadership
The National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) is a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. Its vision is to be an industry-wide catalyst to improve the health of the public through evidence-based leadership and improved organizational performance. For more information, please visit the NCHL Web site at http://www.nchl.org .
National Center for Healthcare Leadership
CONTACT: Marie Sinioris of National Center for Healthcare Leadership,+1-312-755-5018
Web site: http://www.nchl.org/
