The American College of Healthcare Executives is honoring two stalwarts of the industry and a young executive for their efforts to reshape the nation’s healthcare system. They will be honored at the ACHE’s Congress on Healthcare Leadership, March 23-26 in Chicago.
Sister Carol Keehan, immediate past president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, was named an honorary fellow of the ACHE. The designation recognizes people who “have rendered distinguished service in the healthcare field or in related areas and who would not ordinarily be ACHE members.” Among her many achievements, Keehan was a champion of expanding coverage under the Affordable Care Act. She will receive her honor March 22.
Charles Stokes, former president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, is the Gold Medal Award winner, the ACHE’s highest honor. It recognizes leaders who looked beyond their organizations to push improvements across the delivery system. Stokes, who retired from Memorial Hermann late last year, served as ACHE chairman from 2017 to 2018.
Mark Schulte won this year’s Robert S. Hudgens Memorial Award for Young Healthcare Executive of the Year. Schulte is market president at Monument Health Sturgis (S.D.) Hospital. He led a strategy focused on recruiting care providers and building a $10 million outpatient clinic—the largest construction project ever completed in Sturgis and the first consolidated care setting in the community. He also serves on the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations board of directors.
