MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis-area health leaders were among those honored at the Tennessee Hospital Association’s 2021 annual meeting.
Michael Ugwueke, President and CEO at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, received the CEO of Distinction honor.
Joselyn Freeman-Singleton, nurse manager at Regional One Health, received the Nurse Leader of Distinction honor.
And Paul Deaton, M.D., with Mid-South Pulmonary & Sleep Specialists and Hanan McNamee, R.N. and Callie Lillard, R.N., with Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, received the COVID-19 Healthcare Hero Award.
Others honored:
- Senior Executive of Distinction – Angela Beard, vice president and COO/CNO at TriStar NorthCrest Medical Center, Springfield
- Trustee of Distinction – William Rukeyser, member of the Board of Directors at the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s University Health System, Inc., Knoxville
- Clinical Nurse of Distinction – Mark Allen, a registered nurse in the ICU Dept. at TriStar Horizon Medical Center, Dickson
- Patient Safety Leadership – Gail Fraine, system infection prevention director at Ascension Saint Thomas, Nashville
- Diversity Champion – Joseph Webb, D.Sc., CEO at Nashville General Hospital
- Small and Rural Hospital Leadership – Lisa Casteel, CEO at Henry County Medical Center, Paris
From the THA:
CEO of Distinction Award, the association’s highest honor, recognizes leadership and service by an individual member, in addition to achievements within and contributions to the healthcare industry.
- Michael Ugwueke, president and CEO at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, was recognized for leading his hospital system in achieving the highest performance grade for quality and safety in a recent evaluation, and being instrumental in efforts that led to boosting the network’s five-star quality ratings with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and for the Germantown campus being recognized as one of the country’s top teaching hospitals. Additionally, Ugwueke has been dedicated to reducing health disparities through community outreach programs, fostering a diverse team of healthcare leaders and placing a deeper focus on improving social determinants of health.
Nurse of Distinction Awards recognize outstanding contributions by registered nurses employed at a THA member hospital or health system.
- Joselyn Freeman-Singleton, nurse manager at Regional One Health, Memphis, successfully combines the compassion to ensure exceptional bedside care, the medical knowledge to treat patients with a wide range of conditions, and the acumen to develop and implement optimal service models. She has earned a reputation as a proven leader who garners the respect of her direct reports, colleagues and leadership by using her operational and clinical skills to build new services to expand care to patients, all the while boosting morale. Recent successes include establishing a medical oncology program to administer chemotherapy and other cancer therapies, and a unit for patients from a Mississippi federal detention center.
The COVID-19 Health Care Hero Award is presented in recognition of contributions made in Tennessee during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Paul Deaton, M.D., with Mid-South Pulmonary & Sleep Specialists; and nurses Hanan McNamee and Callie Lillard with Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, made remarkable contributions and saved the life of a COVID-19 patient who was 26 weeks pregnant when she was hospitalized. Because of the disease, the expectant mom was put in a medically induced coma for three weeks where Deaton, McNamee and Lillard stood watch. Her aby boy was delivered safely via Cesarean section. The team spent time with the patient after delivery, even arranging a fundraiser. Their genuine compassion and unbelievable perseverance were integral to the survival of the patient and her son.
