VCU’s Nationally Ranked Department of Health Administration Presents 2003 Outstanding Alumnus/Alumna Award

For Release April 22, 2003

RICHMOND, Va. – One week after being recognized as the fifth ranked graduate program of its kind in the country, by U.S. News & World Report, the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Health Administration has presented its 2003 Outstanding Alumna Award to a 1981 graduate who now heads Bon Secours Health System, Inc.

Sister Patricia “Pat” A. Eck, C.B.S., M.H.A., chairperson of the board of directors for Marriottsville, Md. based Bon Secours Health System, Inc. and chair of the Catholic Health Association USA board of trustees was recognized during the department’s annual Paul A. Gross Distinguished Leadership Lecture, April 17, at Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel, 101 W. Franklin St. The department’s Alumni Executive Committee selects the award recipient each spring, based on professional accomplishment, community involvement and past, present and potential support for DHA.

“Sister Pat is a wonderful choice, our alumni executive committee has done a fantastic job,” said VCU’s Stephen S. Mick, Ph.D., Arthur Graham Glasgow professor and chair of health administration. “Her firm commitment to, and success at, improving health care services is more than adequate evidence that she is a most worthy recipient of this award. I know I speak for the department when I say we are proud to call her one of our own.”

Twenty-two years after earning her master’s degree in health administration, Sister Pat has continued to make time for the department and its students. She has been a guest speaker at DHA events and has worked with MHA students serving residencies within Bon Secours Health System. Last year, she was instrumental in helping to establish the Bon Secours Scholar Program in DHA and secured a generous Bon Secours donation for renovation of the student lounge at William H. Grant House, 1008 E. Clay St.

As part of its “Landmarks in Leadership” series, DHA proudly presented 1973 alumnus David L. Bernd as the guest lecturer for the 2003 Paul A. Gross Leadership Lecture. Bernd, chief executive officer of Norfolk based Sentara Healthcare, is chair-elect designate of the American Hospital Association and the first Virginian to hold that post in the AHA’s 106-year history. Through its Landmark series, DHA brings top health care executives to campus to share their perspective and knowledge about key issues in the health care field with alumni, faculty and students.

The Department of Health Administration was ranked 5th in the U.S. News & World Report 2004 rankings of “America’s Best Graduate Schools. Altogether, VCU had 20 graduate programs rank (http://www.vcu.edu/uns/Releases/2003/april/040403a.html) in the top 60 of the U.S. News & World Report annual survey. A complete list is available at http://www.vcu.edu/ranking/.

About VCU and the VCU Medical Center: Located on two downtown campuses in Richmond, Va., Virginia Commonwealth University is ranked nationally by the Carnegie Foundation as a top research institution and enrolls 26,000 students in more than 160 undergraduate, graduate, professional and doctoral programs in the arts, sciences and humanities in 11 schools and one college. Forty of the university’s programs are unique in Virginia, and 20 graduate and professional programs have been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as among the best of their kind. The hospitals, clinics and health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University comprise the VCU Medical Center, one of the leading academic medical centers in the country. For more, see www.vcu.edu.

CONTACT: Michael Ford
Phone: (804) 827-0889
Email: mford@hsc.vcu.edu
www.vcu.edu/uns