Published: June 24, 2008 12:23 am         

Newsmakers: June 24, 2008

• David R. Doerr, president and chief executive officer, Union Hospital, recently became a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the nation’s leading professional society for health-care leaders.

“Because health care management ultimately affects the people in our communities, it is critically important to have a standard of excellence promoted by a professional organization,” says Thomas C. Dolan, Ph. D., resident and chief executive officer of ACHE. By becoming an ACHE Fellow and simultaneously earning board certification from ACHE, health-care leaders can show they are committed to providing high-quality service to their patients and community.”

Fellow status represents achievement of the highest standard of professional development.

Only 7,500 health-care executives hold this distinction.

To obtain “Fellow” status, candidates must fulfill multiple requirements, including passing a comprehensive examination, meeting academic and experiential criteria, earning continuing education credits and demonstrating professional/community involvement.

Fellows are also committed to the ongoing professional development and undergo recertification every three years.

• Carol Roesch, Union Hospital chief nursing officer, has been selected to serve a one-year term as a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examiner. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, created by an Act of Congress in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive. The success of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program is dependent on a board of volunteer Examiners who evaluate Award applications.

Examiners are the heart of the Program, as they give tremendous time and energy to evaluating applications and to helping organizations learn about the Program and its value.

Each year the Award Program recruits the best in the business, education, health care, and not-for-profit fields to serve as examiners.

Currently, there are five award eligibility categories: manufacturing, service, small business, health care and education.

Legislation approving a not-for-profit category was passed in 2005, and not-for-profits will become eligible when funding for the category is approved.

As an examiner, Roesch will review, write an analysis of, and score written applications and prepare final score books that are the foundation for written feedback reports to applicants.

She also may participate in a consensus review process and a site visit. In addition to their application review responsibilities, examiners contribute significantly to the Baldrige National Quality Program through outreach and educational activities by serving as representatives of the program.

Factors considered in selection of Baldrige examiners are

• Expertise in business, education, health care, or not-for-profit management, processes and results

• Knowledge of practices and improvement strategies leading to performance excellence

• Length, breadth and type of experience

• Analytical, communication, team and leadership skills

• Education and training

During her term as an examiner, Roesch will:

• Strengthen her ability to use the Criteria for Performance Excellence for organizational assessment.

• Network with some of the nation’s foremost experts in the business, education, health care and not-for-profit fields.

• Learn how leading organizations achieve performance excellence.

• Use her expertise to improve America’s competitive position.

• Receive valuable training and experience in understanding and applying the criteria to business, education, health care and not-for-profit organizations.

• Develop analytical and consensus-building skills and a systems perspective that can be applied at your home organization.

• Attend the annual ceremony where the president of the United States presents the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.



• Kevin Davidson, principal technologist for enterprise planning of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s instructional, administrative and information technology office, has received the 2008 IMPACT Award from ANGEL Learning for exemplary contributions to millions of students and instructors at educational institutions throughout the world.

The IMPACT Award was presented at this year’s ANGEL User Conference, attended by over 600 educators and corporate officials.

ANGEL Learning, with headquarters in Indianapolis, develops and markets Web-based teaching and learning tools that allow instructors to easily and efficiently manage instruction, develop sophisticated and collaborative learning experiences, and, most importantly, improve learning outcomes.

The company is recognized as a leader in product innovation, thanks to constructive feedback from Davidson and other higher education technology experts.

“The ANGEL user community is all about teaching and learning,” stated Christopher Clapp, ANGEL Learning’s president and chief executive officer. “To stand out in this crowd takes more than a little creativity and energy. I sincerely congratulate and thank Kevin Davidson for his exceptional contributions to the ANGEL community.”

ANGEL Learning Management Suite won the Software & Information Industry Association’s CODiE award for Best Postsecondary Course Management Solution in both 2006 and 2007.

“Of all the systems that I work with doing ‘enterprise integration’, the ANGEL LMS has the most open and extensible [computer] architecture,” stated Davidson. “This openness is mirrored in the product itself as well as in aspects of training, support, development and user community. The Rose-Hulman learning community shares many of these attributes. ANGEL is a good match.”

Davidson has been a member of Rose-Hulman’s Office of Instructional, Administrative & Information Technology for more than 20 years.



• Debra Craig, customer service agent, Old National Insurance, was named the recipient of the National Association of Insurance Women 2007-2008 Rookie of the Year, at an awards luncheon in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Rookie of the Year award recognizes excellence among those who have been a member of the National Association of Insurance Women for two years or less. Among the criteria considered in conferring the award are the candidate’s participation in association activities, involvement in the insurance industry education programs and activities undertaken in the community.

Craig previously won at the state and regional level before advancing to the national competition. The nine regional winners compete at the national level, with the national Rookie of the Year awarded $500 at the NAIW national convention each June.

The regional and national competitions are co-sponsored with NAIW by GMAC Insurance.

Craig offers the extensive experience necessary to service the insurance requirements of the construction trade.

She has 12 years of experience in the insurance industry.

Craig has been a member of Insurance Professionals of the Wabash Valley for three years and has served as president and as acting chairwoman and served on several committees.

For the past 11/2 years, she has traveled with NAIW Indiana Council director, Tish Scott, Center Insurance Inc., as an assistant and will serve as Indiana Council director from July 1, 2008 until June 30, 2009.

Also, she has served as chairwoman and on committees at the state, regional and national level. She is a member of the Insurance Grassroots Network and the Society of CISR.

In addition, the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research has announced that Craig is the 2008 Outstanding CSR of the Year recipient for the sate of Indiana.

To qualify for this top state honor, Craig submitted the winning essay on the topic: “What are the four most important challenges in developing accounts in a soft market?” Additionally, Craig was selected for having demonstrated outstanding service and professionalism within the insurance community.

Craig began her career in the insurance industry in 1996 for the Sycamore Agency Inc., currently Old National Insurance. She has progressed from handling small commercial accounts to become Old National Insurance’s contractor specialist. Her product knowledge is extensive and in the past year she completed all the requirements for the IACSR, CISR and CPIW designations, while working full time and attending a community college part time.

Debra receives a framed certificate, embossed with the special Outstanding CSR of the Year bronze medallion symbol, and is now one of 39 individuals eligible for the national honor.

The National Outstanding CSR of the Year Award carries a $2,000 cash prize and a scholarship for the recipient’s employer to any program offered by The National Alliance.

The national winner also receives a distinctive gold and diamond lapel pin cast with the Outstanding CSR of the Year emblem.

Additionally, the winner’s name will be inscribed on a sculpture permanently displayed at the national headquarters in Austin, Texas.



• Tina Dean, account executive of Old National Insurance of Terre Haute and president-elect of Insurance Professionals of the Wabash Valley, recently passed her fifth certified insurance service representative class on commercial property and has succeeded in achieving her CISR designation.

Attainment of the designation offers tangible evidence of high professional standards, a commitment to continuing education and awareness of insurance industry issues.

To achieve the designation, each designee must complete five modules: personal residential property, personal auto exposures, commercial property, commercial casualty exposures and agency operations.

Dean has been a member of IPWV for seven years and has nine years of experience in the insurance industry. She sells personal, life and small-business insurance from several Old National locations.