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MEDIA CONTACT: Rebecca Davis, Executive Director 270-925-5611
RDavis@NCHN.org

LOCAL LEADER WINS NATIONAL AWARD

MEDIA CONTACT: Rebecca Davis, Executive Director RELEASE DATE: MAY 1, 2009
270-925-5611
RDavis@NCHN.org

LOCAL LEADER WINS NATIONAL AWARD

Tara Cramer of Sandersville, GA --- Outstanding New and Emerging Health Network Leader of 2009

In late April, 2009, the National Cooperative of Health Networks Association (NCHN) announced their first national award winners during their annual conference in Charleston, SC. Tara Cramer, Executive Director of the East Georgia Health Cooperative in Sandersville, GA, was selected as the first recipient nationally of the NCHN Outstanding New and Emerging Network Leader Award.

By definition, health networks are formed when three or more health care providers formally come together to better meet the needs of patients in their service area. These providers often include hospitals, community health centers, critical access hospitals, physician practices, mental health providers, rural health clinics and other for-profit and not-for-profit health care organizations. These networks work to increase access to quality health care for local patients and streamline the cost of that care, as well.

The NCHN Outstanding New & Emerging Network Leader of the Year Award recognizes extraordinary leadership activities demonstrated by a new health network leader with less than five years experience in the field. Award winners were nominated and chosen by their national peers. Cramer was specifically recognized for her demonstrated ability to seek out national best practices, to fine tune enhancements to existing service offerings at a cost savings, and to work closely with board members to be certain that all strategies for delivery of these health services met the needs and realities of the local communities they serve.

“Tara’s nomination said it best,” adds Rebecca Davis, Executive Director of NCHN. “Tara never loses sight of why many of us are a part of NCHN and leading the networks across the nation: Care is best delivered close to home and networks contribute significantly to this vision.”

Tara began working as the Executive Director for the East Georgia Health Cooperative in August 2007 and has grown this once nine-county partnership to a point where it stretches to seventeen counties. The East Georgia Health Cooperative was formed in 1999 as the first multi-county rural health network focused on improving access and health status in Georgia.

East Georgia Health Cooperative is a vertical network comprised of Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) corporations, rural hospitals, and an academic medical center. It began as a partnership among care providers focused on supporting one another and improving the health status of the community with Diabetes Education and Management as the primary service of the Cooperative. It has since expanded into many related areas and continues to significantly impact the accessibility of health care for patients in the network members’ communities.

NCHN is a national level professional membership organization of health network leaders across the nation. Its mission is to support and strengthen health alliances through collaboration, networking, leadership development and education. The Association has members in 33 states. Its major focus in 2009 will be a continued emphasis on supporting Network Leaders across the nation through the expansion of the Executive Coaching Program, ongoing regional conferences and workshops, and the development of a specialized training curriculum around Health Network Governance. This Governance learning opportunity will include strategies for success with Board selection, training, and coordination.