Obituary: Former Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association president

Laurens Sartoris, who served as president of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association for 27 years, died Oct. 31 at age 78. He also served on a variety of volunteer and business boards, including the board of Bath Community Hospital in Hot Springs, Va. At the time of his retirement, the Laurens Sartoris Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship was established to give people who need financial assistance and show high academic merit the financial means to become associate degree nurses in the Virginia Community College System. 
 
“Throughout his nearly 40 years at the Virginia Hospital and Healthsystem Association, Larry focused on making health care better for more Virginians, whether it was through initiatives to strengthen the health care workforce or advance patient safety and quality,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “Larry was a gentleman, a team builder and a patriot. Over the years, he was generous with his time to many new state hospital association CEOs as he showed them the ropes and made tremendous contributions to hospitals in Virginia, the AHA and our entire field.”