2026 Healthcare Leadership Award Recipients

PRC Pinnacle Award

PRC’s highest honor: it is reserved for a leader whose vision, influence and results set the standard for healthcare excellence: someone who challenges the status quo, inspires others across the industry, and delivers sustained achievement for patients, caregivers and communities.

Recipient:

• Amy Searls, Prime Healthcare

Healthcare Experience

This prestigious award recognizes healthcare leaders whose organizations utilized PRC solutions to ensure their healthcare excellence spans across multiple facets to cultivate strong, unified organizational health.

 Recipients:

• Jon Cooper, Asante
• Rick Naegler, Prime Healthcare
• East Women’s Health, Regional One Health
• Brenda Nance, Saint Francis Health System

Brand Excellence

This award recognizes exceptional displays of healthcare branding that connect with their communities and convey their mission and dedication to healthcare excellence.

Recipient:

• Megan Boozer, Riverview Regional Medical Center

Community Impact

This award recognizes an organization whose community health initiatives have driven tangible public health action and improvement, displaying service to their community beyond hospital walls.

Recipient:

• Columbus Regional Health

Innovation

This award recognizes healthcare professionals whose initiatives to improve their organization’s healthcare experience exemplify PRC’s core value of innovation.

Recipient:

• Alex Winters, Northwell Health

Organizational Excellence

This award recognizes organizations who recognize the healthcare experience extends beyond the patients, working across departments and policy to ensure excellence for their care teams and providers.

Recipients:

• Genesis Healthcare System
• Nicole Washington, Regional One Health

Outstanding Culture

This award recognizes organizations who focus on creating an excellent employee culture. With quality as one of PRC’s core values, we want to highlight the organization who focuses their efforts on positive environments and quality culture.

Recipient:

• Becky Farmer, Center for Sports Medicine & Orthopaedics

Patient Experience Impact

The Patient Experience Impact Award celebrates individuals who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to improving the patient experience. This award recognizes those who go above and beyond the traditional scope of their roles, consistently placing the needs of patients at the forefront while driving measurable improvements.

Recipients:

• Andrea (Andi) Jones, DCH Health System
• Anna Brumfield, CPXP, Unity Health
• Kim Stancombe, Monroe Hospital
• Dr. Jennifer Tong, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
• Christi Mayo, Prime Healthcare
• Jackie Pester-Babcock, Prime Healthcare
• Christie Blaschak, Prime Healthcare

Champion of Patient Experience

This award recognizes patient experience leaders who embody the intersection of passion, commitment, and leadership to ensure that patient experience is a priority within their organizations.

Recipients:

• Catia Gentile, Garnet Health
• Michelle Brady, MyMichigan Health
• Kelli Hohenstein, CHC
• Jessica LaPalme, Prime Healthcare

Physician Leadership

This award recognizes exceptional physician leaders who embody their hospital’s mission to make a profound and meaningful impact on the patients they serve, demonstrating excellence in leadership and compassionate care.

Recipient:

• Dr. Isaac Dennis, Saint Francis Health System

Workplace Culture

This award honors organizations and leaders making measurable progress in building workplaces where employees feel heard, valued and engaged. It recognizes the commitment it takes to build that trust over time, along with steady gains in engagement and survey participation on the path toward Excellence.

Recipient:

• Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
• Kaye Green, Roosevelt General Hospital & Clinics

Legacy of Service

This award honors individuals whose decades of dedicated service have become part of the very foundation of their organizations.

Recipient:

• Earnestine Joiner, Regional One Health
• Claudette Carr, Regional One Health

Dimension Champions

The Dimension Champion Awards honor the organizations that achieved the greatest improvement in each HCAHPS dimension among PRC partners this year.

Recipients:

• Overall Rating: Encino Hospital Medical Center
• Would Recommend: MyMichigan Medical Center – Tawas
• Urgent Care Overall Quality: Thibodaux Regional Health
• Emergency Department Overall Rating: Prime Healthcare

Honorable Mentions:

• Care Coordination: St. Mary’s Hospital, Prime Healthcare
• Information About Symptoms: MyMichigan Medical Center – Tawas
• Responsiveness: Garnet Health Medical Center-Catskills