RHA Howell President Wins 2014 Triangle Business Journal Health Care Hero Award

RALEIGH, N.C. - March 25, 2014 - PRLog -- RHA Howell, Inc (http://www.rhahowell.org/)., is pleased to announce that the organization’s  president, Sam K. Hedrick, received a Triangle Business Journal (TBJ) Health Care Hero Award (http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2014/03/tbjs-health-care-heroes-honored-at-awards-ceremony.html) during a special ceremony held at the Raleigh Marriott City Center on March 20.

RHA Howell is a statewide, non-profit organization that has been providing support and services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities for more than 35 years. Hedrick, an attorney and a registered nurse, served as chief operating officer and associate counsel for RHA Howell from 2003 until 2007, when she was named president.

According to TBJ, “This year’s finalists were chosen from a copious batch of nominees that the judges combed through, ” including physicians and physician groups, non-physician medical professionals, researchers and health care innovators, nurses, dentists, volunteers, veterinarians, hospitals, and health care managers.

“What this award says to me is that organizations that specifically serve people with disabilities and their families are finally being recognized as part of the health care industry,” Hedrick said. “I am extremely honored and extremely grateful.”

Hedrick received her Health Care Hero Award in the Support Services Executive/Organization category, which honors a specific individual or an organization for their role in “improving the care in health care.”

Hedrick’s accomplishments since she became president of RHA Howell include:

1)     She expanded RHA Howell’s long-term care medical expertise into in-home care and case management for adults and children living with complex needs.

2)     She spearheaded the WIN (Workforce Investment Network) program, which invests in the education of employees who demonstrate a passion for the work that we do. Through WIN, over 600 employees advanced their careers, received high school diplomas, college, and post-graduate degrees.

3)     She created the RESPECT program, which rewards employees for work that advances our strategic goals.

4)     She launched the STEP (Safety Through Employee Participation) program that makes safety fun, reduces injuries, and resulted in $600,000 in savings in the first year/

Leah Devlin, a professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, introduced Hedrick’s award by first noting her favorite quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see.”

For more information on RHA Howell, visit www.rhahowell.org.

About RHA Howell:

RHA Howell has been providing supports and services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities for more than 35 years. We work closely with individuals and their families to make their lives as independent as possible with an emphasis on community inclusion. Mrs. Irene Howell founded the original Howell Care Center in 1970. Over the next 30 years, she established a network of Howell Care Centers, and, upon her retirement, entrusted her legacy to RHA Health Services. Today, RHA Howell, Inc. carries on the Howell Care Centers tradition. For more information: www.rhahowell.org.