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MHA Honors Health Care Champions and Community Benefit Programs

Posted on: Friday, 29 June 2007, 06:04 CDT

LANSING, Mich., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) yesterday announced the winners of its Ludwig Community Benefit Award, Meritorious Service Award and Special Recognition Award during the 2007 MHA Annual Membership Meeting. Each award recognizes exceptional contributions the winners have made to health care in the state.

The Ludwig Community Benefit Award recognizes health care organizations that demonstrate community benefit by collaborating with other local organizations to improve the overall health and well-being of the communities. The award includes a $2,500 cash gift from the MHA Health Foundation to assist in the ongoing efforts of the winning program. Two Ludwig Awards were presented for 2007, honoring the North Central Council of the MHA, Petoskey, and its member hospitals for the Let's Get Moving Northern Michigan program; and Memorial Healthcare, Owosso, for its Memorial FIT Kids program.

The North Central Council of the MHA gathered health professionals from its region's 13 hospitals and developed Let's Get Moving Northern Michigan to promote physical activity, nutrition and smoking cessation. The 100-day wellness competition allows participants to earn points for specific healthy behaviors, such as consuming recommended dietary allowances of different food groups and being physically active. Individuals, teams and entire communities compete for prizes and incentives. The program has fostered partnerships among communities, hospitals, schools, fitness centers, businesses, district health departments, and others as they've worked together to improve health status and has prompted communities to create environments that promote physical activity. Through the leadership of this group, northern Michigan communities are battling obesity and cardiovascular disease over the long haul.

Memorial Healthcare initiated Memorial FIT Kids to identify health risks in the children of Shiawassee County, where childhood obesity ranks as the number three community concern. The program offers health screenings to every sixth-grader in the region, with results sent to parents. The screenings test for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors by measuring factors such as body mass index, cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure. Memorial Healthcare and its community partners then offer education, information and interventions to encourage a lifetime of healthy habits. The children will be retested in eighth grade to determine the effectiveness of the interventions. The community awareness of CVD risks produced by Memorial FIT Kids has initiated several local health and fitness programs through such organizations as the YMCA, MSU Extension, the Kiwanis Club and Owosso Public Schools.

The MHA also chose two winners for its Meritorious Service Award, the association's highest honor. Winners of the 2007 award include Gerald D. Fitzgerald, vice chairman of Oakwood Healthcare Inc., Dearborn, and Marlene Hulteen, former corporate vice president of the MHA.

Fitzgerald has dedicated more than 40 years to providing excellent health care at Oakwood and has served on the MHA Board of Trustees since 1994, the last two years as chair. He joined Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center in 1966 and was named president and CEO in 1980, retaining that position through a 1989 merger that created Oakwood Healthcare Inc. and doubled the size of the facility. In February, he remained the system's president when Brian Connolly became chief executive officer. In July, Fitzgerald assumes the title of vice chairman and will continue to focus on implementation of Oakwood's strategic initiatives until his retirement June 30, 2008. During his tenure, he has advanced innovation and excellence through several customer service initiatives and has received a variety of awards for leadership and contributions to health care.

Hulteen officially retired from the MHA in December, but has continued to serve on a contractual basis, including the coordination and implementation of this week's meeting. For 24 consecutive years, she has taken responsibility as the sentinel for the annual meeting's ongoing success, and through her uncompromising pursuit of excellence, has reset the MHA "Gold Standard" of hospitality. Her service with the MHA is also marked by her promotion of innovation and development through multiple offerings on board governance and community benefits measurement. Hulteen has served as mentor to MHA staff members at every level of the organization, modeled a lifestyle of healthy diet and exercise, and served on the Fitness Council of Michigan and the Governors Council on Physical Fitness. She is a fellow in the Health Care Forum and earned a certified association executive designation from the American Society of Association Executives.

Two individuals were presented with the MHA Special Recognition Award for their significant contributions to health care in the state, including Paul Reinhart, director, Medical Services Administration, Michigan Department of Community Health, and Carl E. Ver Beek, attorney-of-counsel in the area of labor and employment relations with the Grand Rapids-based law firm of Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett.

Since 2003, Reinhart has directed Michigan's Medicaid program, using his honest assessment skills and creativity to improve health care coverage for thousands of Michigan's children, mothers, seniors and disabled residents. He has served the state's citizens with no political bias, working under both Democratic and Republican governors in a variety of roles over the course of more than three decades, including eight years as director of the Office of Health and Human Services in the governor's budget office. For much of his career, Reinhart has developed Medicaid and human services policies, and as the Medicaid program has grown and faced numerous financial crises, he has been a partner with the MHA and Michigan's hospitals in seeking creative ways to maximize reimbursement for the care provided to Medicaid patients.

Ver Beek tirelessly advocates for the recognition of Michigan hospitals' role in job creation, access to care, and community stability. A founding member of the MHA Business Advisory Council, he has been an important bridge- builder between employer groups and health care providers. Integrally involved in both the Michigan and Grand Rapids Area Chambers of Commerce, Ver Beek led the city group in developing a white paper called "The Business Case for Medicaid Reform," which details the cost shifts that occur when government fails to adequately fund Medicaid and Medicare. He also donated his time to appear in the Partnership for Michigan's Health DVD titled "The Face and Value of Medicaid in Michigan." In these and other community and professional endeavors, Ver Beek makes a vital contribution to public policy development and is a genuine statesman in the legislative and regulatory process.

The Michigan Health & Hospital Association, based in Lansing, is a state association representing and supporting hospitals, health systems and other health care providers through education, advocacy and communication.

The Michigan Health & Hospital Association

CONTACT: Sherry Mirasola of The Michigan Health & Hospital Association,+1-517-323-3443

Web site: http://www.mha.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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