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With the Covid-19 crisis squarely in the rear-view mirror, Atlanta's health care community is forging ahead — empowered with lessons learned from the pandemic and motivated by the myriad conditions affecting the industry now — from consolidation to higher costs.
Atlanta Business Chronicle will honor the most innovative frontline healthcare employees and the industry’s most influential leaders during its inaugural Health Care Champion Awards.
Recipients include nurses, physicians and community outreach professionals plus the preeminent leaders in health equity, women’s health, rural health and more.
Honorees were selected with the help of an advisory committee of industry professionals including: Joselyn Baker, president, Grady Health Foundation; Vonetta Daniels, executive director and Georgia market lead, Cinqcare; Ted Johnson, M.D., M.P.H, chair, family and preventive medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, and chief, general internal medicine Emory Department of Medicine; Jayne Morgan, M.D., executive director, health and community education, Piedmont Healthcare; Rachel Cohen Noebes, healthcare reporter, Atlanta Business Chronicle; and Crystal Edmonson, senior editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Winners will be revealed during an evening awards program June 6 at The Foundry at Puritan Mill.
Here is the list of finalists.
Lifetime Achievement
Carol Burrell, President and CEO, Northeast Georgia Health System
Allied Health Professional of the Year
Janae Finley, PT, DPT, CLT, CES, Assistant Clinical Director, Turning Point Breast Cancer Rehabilitation Inc.
Community Outreach Champion of the Year
Elise Lockamy-Kassim, Health Equity Innovation and Strategy Leader, Wellstar Health System
Belisa Urbina, Executive Director, Ser Familia
Health Care Executive of the Year
Monica Hum, M.D., CEO, Piedmont Rockdale Hospital, Piedmont Healthcare
Debbie Bilbro, President and CEO, Northside Hospital Gwinnett and Northside Hospital Duluth
Health Equity Leader of the Year
Seema Csukas, MD, PhD, Vice President and Market Chief Medical Officer, Georgia, CareSource
Yolanda Wimberly, SVP, Chief Health Equity Officer, Grady Health System
Innovator of the Year - Pediatric Health
Colin Muething, PhD, BCBA-D, Program Director, Complex Behavior Support Program, Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Emory School of Medicine
Innovator of the Year - Research
Warren Jones, PhD, Director of Research, Marcus Autism Center and
Ami Klin, PhD, Director, Marcus Autism Center
Innovator of the Year - Women’s Health
Jyoti Sharma, M.D., Medical Director Women's Heart Program and Medical Director Advanced Practice, Piedmont Healthcare
Innovator of the Year – Senior Care
Neil Pruitt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PruittHealth
Physician/Physician Practice Group of the Year
Ben Lefkove, M.D., Co-Founder and CEO, DriveThru Urgent Care
Shah Family: Dr. J.J Shah, MD; Dr. Meena Shah, MD; Shveta Raju, MD; and Deep Shah, MD, Gwinnett Clinic
Public Health Care Champion of the Year
Sandra Elizabeth Ford, Healthcare Consultant, Dekalb County Government
Debra Houry, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science, CDC
Rising Star
Chris Appleton, Founder and CEO, Art Pharmacy
Zerita Buchanan, DDS, MPH, Dentist and Co-Owner, Dental Dreams, LLC
Rural Health Care Champion of the Year
Christine Bond, Nurse Navigator, AdventHealth Gordon
Nurse of the Year
Ginger Hines, RN, Nurse, Piedmont Healthcare
2022 net patient revenue
| Rank | Prior Rank | Hospital |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Northside Hospital - Atlanta |
2 | 2 | Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville |
3 | 3 | WellStar Kennestone Hospital |
