- Home »
- Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Award »
- SAM Award Background
Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Award - Background
This award is designed to provide professional development and educational opportunities to outstanding small or rural hospital chief executives.
Goal
The award recognizes the accomplishments of small or rural hospital chief executives and administrators who -- coupled with a profound appreciation of the challenges confronting rural communities and understanding of AHA’s vision of a healthier America -- have achieved improvements in local health delivery and health status through their leadership and direction. The award emphasizes innovation in the following:
-
Building community-wide collaborative relationships
-
Improving and expanding coverage and access to essential services
-
Implementing patient safety and quality initiatives
-
Identifying and utilizing new technologies and information systems to improve health outcomes
Sponsors
The award is funded through contributions of individuals and organizations who recognize the need to honor the accomplishments of dedicated rural hospital chief executives and support their continued professional growth. AHA’s Section for Small or Rural Hospitals will administer and support the award and the spirit and promise of America’s small or rural hospitals.
|
|
SHIRLEY ANN MUNROEThrough her career, which covered over four decades of service, Shirley Ann Munroe set a standard of dedication and leadership that continues to inspire her professional peers in small and rural hospital administration. Shirley Ann’s experience included 20 years as administrator of a 43-bed rural hospital where she met the challenges of providing quality health care to her community in an environment of limited resources. She thrived on positive change and guided the development of one of America’s earliest centers for rural health care management and advocacy, where she served as the first director of AHA’s Section for Small or Rural Hospitals. Her legacy is a benchmark for professional hospital management, rural community health development, and rural health care representation and advocacy. |
Eligibility
To be eligible, applicants must have played a pivotal role throughout the year in resolving problems or overcoming challenges faced in the small or rural hospital arena, such as preparing the hospital to adapt to local, market-driven health care reform initiatives. Examples of activities or programs that meet these criteria include:
-
Community-focused activities that are developed cooperatively with community leaders or physicians maximizing scarce resources to encourage provision of communitywide health services for patients and families
-
Patient-centered delivery of improved health services through appropriate acquisition of new technologies or information systems, or through enhanced management of costs or quality
-
The organization of new types of interprofessional relationships to provide care, education, and training, as well as programs linking various levels of care or new structures integrating nurses, physicians, and department managers
For More Information
Questions about how to apply for the award and how to support the continued advancement of accomplished rural hospital administrators and chief executives should be directed to Jihan Palencia Kim, Section for Small or Rural Hospitals, 312.422.3345 or email at jpalencia@aha.org.
SAM Award Index