As published in Toledo Business Journal - July 1, 2013
2013 Healthcare Heroes recognized
The healthcare profession is one where acts of heroism often go unnoticed, because they happen every day. Healthcare Heroes do not act for praise, recognition, or job advancement. Indeed, their stories are not always picked up by the local media or communicated outside of their organizations. Rather, Healthcare Heroes are motivated by a desire to make a difference in the lives they touch.
Healthcare Heroes was launched in 2008 to recognize the extraordinary impact that exceptional healthcare professionals have on the healthcare industry and on the quality of life in their communities.
The Fifth Annual Healthcare Heroes Recognition Ceremony, held on June 27, 2013 at the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, recognizes the extraordinary contributions healthcare makes to the quality of life in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Each honoree has received an award for the honor.
Healthcare Heroes has honored 23 candidates and five recipients this year, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. To qualify for the Lifetime Achievement Award, a healthcare leader must have left a mark on healthcare through a career (of at least 25 years) of heroic acts, compassion, honor, and integrity that have helped to put our region at the forefront of healthcare.
The Healthcare Heroes exemplify the contributions healthcare makes to the region.
A hero is usually an ordinary person doing extraordinary things, distinguished for his or her courage or ability. They may also be someone who is a model for others that has performed a heroic deed and/or tirelessly given of his/her time, talent, and expertise to improve health.
A Healthcare Hero could be a physician, nurse, allied health professional, researcher, administrator, educator, or caregiver that has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Healthcare Heroes should demonstrate honesty, integrity, humility, courage, and commitment.
For example, a Healthcare Hero may be a healthcare professional who exemplifies extraordinary quality and compassionate patient care; is breaking new ground in the healthcare arena through a new advancement, improvement of efficiencies, or through a new initiative; is providing research and is on the cutting edge of clinical research to ultimately improve patient care; is an accomplished healthcare educator that is inspiring the next generation of healthcare providers; is a healthcare leader who exceeds all expectations when it comes to influencing growth and development of healthcare to meet the needs of the community; or is a healthcare provider making a meaningful contribution to community health improvement, including but not limited to increasing access to healthcare for the low income uninsured.
Sponsors for this year’s event include: The Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio; Gordon Food Service; Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP; Hylant Group; Gilmore, Jasion & Mahler, LTD; and TechSolve. Toledo Business Journal is the media partner and Sashem Brey, 13ABC, is the host and emcee for the event.
Herbert E. Stockard, M.D.
Lifetime Achievement
Chief Medical Officer,
Mercy St. Anne Hospital
Born and raised in Toledo, Dr. Herbert Stockard has had an active nephrology practice for over 30 years. He serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Mercy St. Anne Hospital, Section Chief of Nephrology at Mercy St. Charles Hospital, and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Toledo Medical Center.
Stockard is a past recipient (1990) of the Jefferson Award for Civic and Community Service.
As an advocate for the forgotten and helpless, Stockard has participated in medical mission trips for the past 28 years. Twice a year he undertakes a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic. He is also a past president of the Midwest Medical Mission.
Stockard has been a member of the Academy of Medicine and a delegate to the Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA) for over 25 years. He has also been the co-director of the DaVita Healthcare Dialysis Center in Toledo since 1997.
Stockard serves on a number of committees including Mercy St. Anne Hospital bylaws review committee and medical executive committee, and EHR oversight committee.
He is also involved in healthcare associations and societies including the American Medical Association, American Heart Association, and American Society of Nephrology.
Beverly Bahret, RN
Program Manager
Mercy Outreach
Not many people are willing to risk their own financial security to help those in need, however Beverly Bahret is one of those people.
Bahret is the program manager for the Mercy Outreach Program, where she is responsible for program oversight and development, supervision of staff and volunteers, care coordination, and serves as the principal investigator for program research.
She developed the program after she saw a need for people who have medical illnesses and co-existing social and emotional needs. However, during the first phases of designing and implementing the program, Bahret cut her hours in half at Mercy Home Care, where she has served as the clinical supervisor, utilization review coordinator, and a part-time RN visit nurse. Mercy Outreach began as Mercy Senior Outreach. Bahret later expanded the program to include adults of all ages, including those with psychiatric needs.
Bahret has over 35 years of experience in both homecare and critical care nursing, including positions as staff nurse, critical care preceptor, clinical supervisor, and instructor. She is a member of the American Nurses Association, Ohio Nurses Association, and Greater Toledo Area Nurses Association.
Her community involvement includes Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center Auxiliary, Aging Services Committee at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, board member and one of the developers of the Suicide Prevention Coalition, and COPE Coalition.
Bahret’s involvement in healthcare covers many categories including direct patient care, educator, administrator, innovator, researcher, community service provider, health advocate, and collaborator.
Patrick J. Martin, FACHE
President & CEO,
Fisher-Titus Medical Center
Family is what inspired Patrick J. Martin to get into the healthcare industry – more specifically his mother. Martin’s mother was a registered nurse. When she was hospitalized at Fisher-Titus with terminal cancer, the hospital administrator, Bill Slabodnick reached out to Martin’s family at this difficult time. Slabodnick also became a mentor to Martin and later guided him on his healthcare career path.
Martin has served as a Trustee-At-Large for the Ohio Hospital Association Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2012 and has been involved in a number of OHA committees. He is also active in many community organizations.
Martin has overseen more than 40 building projects at Fisher-Titus, including the new emergency room in 2012 and the current imaging and operating room projects. The projects have a total value in excess of $200 million.
A notable change that Martin implemented at Fisher-Titus has been the creation of an organizational standard requiring the management team to participate in service to local non-profit groups with healthcare related missions.
He became president in 1998 and is not only responsible for the management of Fisher-Titus, but also its related companies: Norwalk Area Health Systems, Inc.; Health Promotion of Norwalk; North Central EMS; Fisher Consulting Group; and State Collection and Recovery LLC. Martin is retiring this year.
Diane Simon RN, CEN
Trauma Nurse Coordinator
and Emergency Center Unit Coordinator,
ProMedica Defiance Regional Hospital
Working at the state and regional level, Diane Simon has been a voice for the rural trauma care of northwest Ohio. Simon attends state meetings where she spreads awareness of how some laws could negatively impact smaller and more isolated healthcare facilities.
Simon is the Emergency Center Unit Coordinator and the Trauma Nurse Coordinator at ProMedica Defiance Regional Hospital. She obtained her Diploma of Nursing from St. Vincent’s Hospital School of Nursing.
Simon has assisted in the development and management of the Defiance Cares Free Clinic, where she serves as program manager. The clinic is a partnership between ProMedica Defiance Regional Hospital, another healthcare provider, and Defiance College and is held monthly. The clinic mainly serves individuals who do not have healthcare coverage. The clinic has helped approximately 200 patients since it started one year ago.
In addition to her role at the clinic, Simon has provided healthcare services at the community level. She has served as the chief medical officer for Soccer Mania, as well as for Socctoberfest.
Simon has been a member of the Emergency Nurses Association for over 20 years. She is also a member of the Society of Trauma Nurses and Ohio Injury Prevention Partnership. Simon is currently the president of the Ohio Society of Trauma Nurse Leaders.
Kevin Webb, Ph.D, FACHE
President,
ProMedica Toledo Hospital,
Toledo Children’s Hospital,
and the ProMedica Acute Care Division
Improving patient safety is not only a professional cause, but also a personal one for president of ProMedica Toledo Hospital, Kevin Webb – whose father died because of an unintentional medical error.
Growing up in Lima, Webb volunteered at St. Rita’s Medical Center. His experiences volunteering influenced his decision to work in hospitals. After beginning his healthcare career as an audiologist, Webb turned to hospital administration to take advantage of the opportunity to influence the operations of a large complicated healthcare organization with the responsibility for the care of many people.
Webb feels fortunate to have had a mentor early in his career who served as an example of a servant leader and helped to guide him in his career development.
Webb considers one of his greatest contributions to be his efforts that have enabled his healthcare institution to become a High Reliability Organization with a safer environment for patients. “I derive most of my job joy from seeing our teams make hospitals safer places for our patients through process improvements, leveraging technology and most of all- creating a culture of patient safety,” stated Webb.
Webb has identified and implemented a number of opportunities to improve safety: prevention, detection, and correction.