Scripps CEO Receives National Public Relations Honor

Chris Van Gorder is the recipient of 2003 MacEachern Chief Executive Officer Award

The Health Academy of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has selected Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder as the 2003 recipient of the prestigious MacEachern Chief Executive Award.


This award honors a health care chief executive who has demonstrated exemplary use of public relations to advance the goals of his or her organization and who has led the institution to a place of recognized significance in the community.


Nominated by the entire public relations, marketing communications and public affairs team at Scripps, Van Gorder was recognized for his leadership – which is heavily influenced by sound public relations practice. The nomination makes note of how his open, transparent style builds trust inside and outside the organization. He has been supportive of public relations management, he is accessible to the media and he is recognized as a community leader.


“It is an honor to be recognized by an organization that shares my belief in open communications as a driving principal in organizational success,” Van Gorder said. “Whether communicating with our patients, employees, physicians or the community at large through the news media, I believe it is vitally important that we do so in an open, honest and timely way. By doing so, we build trust. And that can only make us a stronger organization and a more compassionate and competent provider of quality health care.”
The Health Academy presented the honor on October 27, 2003 during PRSA’s International Conference in New Orleans.


The competition honors Malcom T. MacEachern, M.D. (1881-1965), an early champion of professional health care public relations.


The Public Relations Society of America, with more than 20,000 members, is the world’s preeminent professional organization in this field. The Health Academy is the largest professional interest section within PRSA, with 1,000 management-level public relations professionals from hospitals, clinics, medical groups, pharmaceutical companies, health plans, agencies and associations.


Founded in 1924 by Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health has operated as a not-for-profit, San Diego-based health care system for more than 75 years. Scripps includes more than 2,600 affiliated physicians, five acute care hospitals, an ambulatory care network, and home health care services employing 10,500 people and treating 525,000 patients annually. Scripps is a world leader in the diagnosis and treatment of disease and is at the forefront of prevention, medical innovation, clinical research and technology. Scripps is recognized for quality health care, named among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News and World Report (2002, 2003), earning the National Research Corporation’s Consumers Choice Award (2001, 2002 and 2003), and among the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals from Solucient (2000, 2001). Scripps is affiliated with The Scripps Research Institute, one of the country’s largest private, not-for-profit research organizations, recognized internationally for biomedical research.

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