Birdwhistell, Steltenkamp Among 2014 MediStar Award Winners

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 20, 2014) - Mark D. Birdwhistell and Dr. Carol Steltenkamp were among the Individuals and organizations honored on May 13 at the eighth annual MediStar Awards. Held at the Hyatt Regency Louisville, the MediStar Awards are the region’s premier venue for recognizing excellence in the business of health care. 

IGE Media is a publishing company that serves members of the Kentuckiana business and healthcare communities and is the only publishing company in Kentuckiana that reaches both the healthcare executive and the healthcare consumer. IGE Media publishes two healthcare newspapers, Medical News and Medical News for You, and produces the annual MediStar Awards.

Birdwhistell, vice president for administration and external affairs for UK HealthCare received the Seven Counties Services Health Advocacy Award which is presented to an individual or organization that has worked to raise awareness of health challenges in our region and worked to affect change.

Birdwhistell represents UK HealthCare at the local, state and national levels and serves as a national speaker on healthcare policy and Medicaid reform efforts. Prior to this position, Birdwhistell served in senior leadership roles in the private and public sector, including secretary for the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services and chief executive officer for CHA Health. He has more than 30 years experience in healthcare.

Steltenkamp received the Hall Render Leadership in Healthcare Award presented to a progressive and entrepreneurial individual who is not afraid to take risks and whose job performance is considered exemplary by providers, patients and peers. Steltenkamp is UK HealthCare chief medical information officer and executive director for the Kentucky Regional Extension Center, a health IT staff resource used by 2,800 Kentucky health professionals. Steltenkamp, also a pediatrician, was instrumental in the development of UK HealthCare’s data warehouse, a system incorporating data mining capabilities and maintaining a pleasant and highly functional user interface. 

Other winners were:
 
The Healthcare Innovation Award
Presented to an organization that has developed a new procedure, device, service, program or treatment that improves the delivery of care.    

University of Louisville Institute of Molecular Cardiology (IMC) 

Under Dr. Roberto Bolli’s leadership, the Institute of Molecular Cardiology is making significant contributions in ischemic heart disease, heart failure and stem cell therapy for cardiac repair. The IMC is recognized worldwide as a leading cardiovascular research program and consistently brings more than $13 million annually in national federal funding to the Louisville Metro region. Most importantly, the IMC is developing novel treatments and future cures for cardiovascular disease.

The Middleton Reutlinger Nurse of the Year Award
Presented to a nurse who has gone above and beyond their normal responsibilities to improve best practices and contribute to patient education.

Tracy Williams, DNP
Senior Vice President and System Chief Nursing Officer
Norton Healthcare

Tracy Williams provides leadership and professional development vision for more than 4,200 nurses with Norton Healthcare. She created an academic partnership with the University of Kentucky College of Nursing that will prepare and education 150 Norton Healthcare BSN employees over the next seven years to complete their DNP with APRN credentials.

The Facility Design Award
Presented to an architectural firm that demonstrated functional or innovative design in a new or renovated healthcare facility, which improves the delivery of care.

Norton Women’s and Kosair Children’s Hospital
Architect: LMH

Norton Women’s and Kosair Children’s Hospital is a full-service, acute care facility. The vision for the architectural design is based on the “Kentucky Forest” theme. The forest can be seen in design elements, including a large expanse of colorized glass representing a canopy of the trees. The facility has an intuitive way-finding system, a new inpatient pediatric unit, a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit and healing garden.

The Passport Health Plan Champion in Health Award
Steve Johnson
Executive Director of Governmental, Community and Legislative Affairs
Owensboro Health
Campaign Chair
Owensboro Health “Gives”

Last year, under the director of Steve Johnson, Owensboro Health partnered with Community Health Charities and United Way to build a new kind of campaign, one that gives employees more choices about how to give. The campaign giving was all done online through Community Health Charities’ “GivingMatters365.org” platform. The online portal allowed Owensboro Health employees to allocate their contributions as they saw it. The employees’ giving and organization’s match combined raised a grand total of $300,543.

The BOK Financial Aging Care Award
Presented to an organization that has advanced the level of care for the senior community through innovative methods resulting in reduced costs and improved quality of care.

Nazareth Home

Nazareth Home is a 118-skilled bed facility, which offers specific programs for short stay rehabilitation and traditional long-term care nursing encompassing dementia and end-of-life care. Nazareth Home’s legacy of compassion and spirit for innovation focused on the individual has led to consistent staffing and healthy, happy elders. This past year, Nazareth Home became the one of only 200 homes in the country (and the only Kentucky certified one) to utilized the Music and Memory Program.

The XLerateHealth Physician of the Year Award
Presented to a physician who has shown outstanding leadership and vision and has contributed to their workplace leaving a lasting legacy.

Donald Miller, MD
Director, James Graham Brown Cancer Center
James Graham Brown Professor of Oncology and 
Associate Vice President for Health Affairs
University of Louisville, School of Medicine

Under Dr. Donald Miller’s leadership, the James Graham Brown Cancer Center developed a nationally recognized research program in cancer drug development with more than a two dozen novel treatments being studied in their labs., with three entering early phase clinical trials. Miller’s laboratory is currently studying short DNA sequences, which cause cancer cells to “commit suicide.” These genomic DNA sequences will enter clinical trials within the next two years.

The A.O. Sullivan Award for Excellence in Education
Presented to an organization that takes creative approaches to developing and implementing programs, which enhance the level of knowledge, education and career opportunity in healthcare.

Associate Education Programs
Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services

Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services’ Associate Education programs are tailored to the associates’ needs. Offerings focus on physical, financial, professional and personal development through traditional and online classes. The hospital offers tuition and certification reimbursement, in–house career opportunities, career fit and skills assessments and resume writing and interviewing tutorials. The six-month School at Work program and four-month ECHO (Expanding Your Career in Healthcare Opportunities) programs give the opportunity to expand healthcare career opportunities inside and outside of the organization.