Scott M. Street Receives AHA's Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Award

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 03 Feb 2010 - 2:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Scott M. Street, president and CEO of Duncan Regional Hospital in Duncan, Okla. is the 2009 winner of the American Hospital Association's (AHA) Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Award. The award recognizes the accomplishments of small or rural hospital leaders who have improved health care delivery in their communities through innovative and progressive efforts.

Street has been CEO of Duncan Regional Hospital (DRH) for more than five years and has extensive health care management experience. DRH is a 192-bed community hospital in southwest Oklahoma that serves a six-county area of 200,000 people. During his tenure, Street has focused on providing better access to health care and health education and creating a state-of-the-art hospital for the citizens of Stephens County.

Street's emphasis on improved access to health care led him to partner with other health care providers to expand DRH to provide cancer and pediatric care. Patients who once needed to drive at least an hour and a half to receive cancer treatment now are treated much closer to home, providing quick access to care. Children who need specialized care also are treated closer to home at the new Sanford Health Pediatric Clinic, which was made possible by a grant championed by Street. Street also increased the availability of state-of-the-art imaging technology to further expand the types of treatment for community members. The Hands On Health Interactive Learning Center, a high-tech, high-touch facility for students in kindergarten through 8th grade, promotes personal health and the possibility of careers in health care for young people. New services also include nephrology and cardiology, with rheumatology, geriatric psych, wound care and neurology services in development.

Street also has focused on physician and nurse recruitment, bringing 31 new physicians to DRH since 2006 and working collaboratively with two schools of nursing to establish the Duncan Regional Hospital Learning Center, which provides an opportunity to train nurses locally and place them in positions at DRH. Health IT is a top priority for the hospital, as well. Street has implemented a system to ensure the right medication is given to the right patient at the right time using the IntellitDOT bedside drug administration system. Additionally, he is working to make DRH a paperless hospital by early 2010.

In addition to his work at DRH, Street is involved in several health care and community organizations. Currently, Street serves on the Oklahoma Hospital Association's (OHA) board of directors and other OHA committees, including the rural health and education councils, and on the Cancer Centers for Southwest Oklahoma board of directors and the VHA, Oklahoma/Arkansas board of directors. As a community leader, Street is chairman of Duncan Public Schools Sports Complex Fund-Raising and Dream Duncan's Destiny Community Health, and serves on the Duncan Area Economic Development Board and the Duncan Chamber of Commerce Advisory Board.

Street received a master's degree in health care administration at the University of Missouri in Columbia and a bachelor of arts' degree in business administration at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

This year the Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Award also recognized three finalists for their significant achievements in service of their community:

- Matthew D. Bailey, president and CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Ind., has focused on the connection between the hospital and the community it serves. When the county had financial difficulties, Bailey worked with county officials to relocate the Knox County Health Department within Good Samaritan Hospital. The department's nurses provide primary health care and social services for patients without health insurance or Medicaid or Medicare assistance, creating better access to care for the citizens of Knox County. Bailey also developed programs to provide free health screenings and tests, to combat childhood obesity and to care for migrant workers and their families. In 2008, Good Samaritan Hospital received Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

- Martin W. Guthmiller, chief executive officer of Orange City Area Health System (OCAHS) in Orange City, Iowa, has committed the health system to playing a greater role in the community OCAHS serves. He has helped develop a new community daycare and preschool facility on the OCAHS campus and previously served as a board member of the Greater Sioux Community Health Center, a clinic providing care based on a sliding income scale for the uninsured and underinsured. Guthmiller also spearheaded the Orange City Development Board's efforts to revitalize Orange City's downtown area after a fire destroyed a landmark retail business. Additionally, he has expanded services available at OCAHS to better meet the health needs of Orange City citizens so they can receive care close to home.

- Becky Ann Pape, chief executive officer of Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital in Lebanon, Ore., lead efforts to build the first medical school in Oregon in more than a century and locate it Lebanon. Students will begin attending classes in 2011 and the school will help address physician shortages in the community and state. Pape also helped develop the Health Career and Training Center to provide education for a variety of health care jobs and supported the hospital's participation in the East Linn Community Health Improvement Partnership, which invests in community projects that provide a more healthful lifestyle for the citizens of Lebanon.

Shirley Ann Munroe Award

Shirley Ann Munroe was an advocate for small and rural hospitals and was instrumental in the creation of the AHA's Section for Small or Rural Hospitals, a forum working to support small and rural hospitals as they improve their community's health.

The award is sponsored by the AHA's Section for Small or Rural Hospitals and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET). It is presented annually to a hospital administrator or chief executive officer who has displayed outstanding leadership in meeting the ongoing challenge of small or rural hospital management. Last year's award recipient was Brian Shockney, president and CEO of Memorial Hospital in Logansport, Ind.

Source
American Hospital Association

• Additional
• References
• Citations