The Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET), an affiliate of the American Hospital Association (AHA), has selected Glenn D. Steele Jr., MD, PhD president and chief executive officer of Geisinger Health System, as the recipient of the 2010 TRUST Award. Established in 2003, the TRUST Award honors individuals who have exhibited visionary leadership in the health care field and who symbolize HRET's mission of leveraging research and education to make a dramatic impact in policy and practice.
"The Selection Committee praised Dr. Steele's strong use of research to inform evidence-based practice," said Al Stubblefield, president, Baptist Health Care and chair of the HRET Board of Trustees. "The Committee recognized Dr. Steele's leadership as an early adopter of both HIT and patient-centered care, as well as his vision to redesign and implement new payment models."
"At a time when our nation's hospitals strive to become more efficient and provide greater value, Dr. Steele's example and the Geisinger story challenges leaders to invest in quality, to innovate by seeking new models of care, and most importantly, to never forget their commitment to patients and communities," said HRET President Maulik S. Joshi, DrPH.
Dr. Steele is recognized in the field for his research on the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancer and colorectal cancer surgery. Prior to becoming president and CEO of Geisinger Health System in early 2001, Dr. Steele was the Richard T. Crane Professor in the Department of Surgery, vice president for medical affairs, and dean of the Division of Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Prior to that, Dr. Steele served as the William V. McDermott Professor of Surgery at Harvard University Medical School, chairman of the Department of Surgery of New England Deaconess Hospital, and president and chief executive officer of Deaconess Professional Practice Group.
Dr. Steele was named to "Modern Healthcare's 2009 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" and in 2007 received the AHA's Grassroots Champion Award. In 2006 Dr. Steele received the CEO IT Achievement Award, given by Modern Healthcare and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for promoting health information technology. Dr. Steele serves on numerous councils and boards, including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and their Committee on Reviewing Evidence to Identify Highly Effective Clinical Services (HECS), as well as the AHA Long-Range Policy Committee.
Dr. Steele received his BA degree in history from Harvard College in 1966 and his MD degree from New York University School of Medicine in 1970. At the University of Colorado, he completed his internship and residency in surgery. He received his PhD degree in microbiology at Lund University in Sweden in 1975. A prolific writer, Dr. Steele is the author or co-author of over 450 articles in the peer-reviewed and professional literature.
HRET will honor Dr. Steele at a reception on July 22 in San Diego, CA, during the AHA/Health Forum Leadership Summit.
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