Lynn Nicholas, FACHE, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA), Honored at Massachusetts Health Council Annual Awards Gala
Lynn Nicholas, FACHE, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA), is a recipient of this year’s prestigious Massachusetts Health Council (MHC) Award, which is presented annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the general health and well-being of the commonwealth’s residents.
Nicholas was recognized by MHC for “her leadership in making health and wellness an MHA priority. Her dedication to creating a healthier healthcare community is evidenced by her successful launch of a statewide voluntary public health initiative to ban all tobacco products from hospital campuses. She is a risk-taker and is unwavering in her commitment to ensuring that hospital environments are models of health.”
MHC is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of more than 150 statewide governmental and voluntary agencies, consumer and advocacy groups, professional societies, and private corporations committed to improving and protecting the health of the residents of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the largest and the oldest health council in the country, and provides a forum whereby healthcare leaders – often from opposite sides of health policy issues – come together to make a difference in improving health.
The annual MHC award ceremony – known for its “Dining with the Stars” theme and this year prepared by celebrity chef Jody Adams – took place November 3, 2015 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel.
Ms. Nicholas has been President & CEO of MHA since 2007 and has more than 35 years of hospital and association experience. As MHA's CEO, she is responsible for leading advocacy, education and other services for MHA's member hospitals, health systems, physician practices and more.
Upon her arrival in Massachusetts she was appointed to several key healthcare advisory groups, including the Special Commissions on the Healthcare Payment System and Provider Price Reform, which resulted in the rapid transformation of the Massachusetts healthcare sector. The Massachusetts experience, in turn, contributed many elements that were incorporated into the national Affordable Care Act.
A strong proponent of public health and wellness issues, Nicholas led MHA to become the commonwealth’s first employer not to hire tobacco users. She spearheaded MHA’s “Healing Inside and Out: Massachusetts Tobacco-Free Hospitals” initiative, for which she won an award in 2015 from Tobacco Free MA. Under her leadership, MHA created a statewide expert panel to draft guidelines for all hospitals use in the dispensing of opioids, to help curb the substance use disorder crisis affecting the state and nation.
MHA also has been recognized five consecutive years as a “Healthiest Small Employer in the Greater Boston Area” and most recently Ms. Nicholas received “Advocate” recognition in the Boston Business Journal’s Healthcare Heroes Awards.
In 2014 she was named “2014 Woman of the Year” by Tomorrow’s Women Today and “130 Women Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know” by Becker´s Hospital Review. Lynn is Programming Chair and a board member of the Massachusetts Women's Forum, a chapter of the International Women’s Forum. Prior to leading MHA, Lynn was: CEO, American Diabetes Association; CEO, Louisiana Hospital Association; and EVP/COO, New Jersey Hospital Association, with 20 years of experience working in a New Jersey hospital where she progressed from Medical Technologist to Senior VP.
She earned her B.S. in medical technology from Tennessee Wesleyan College and in 2005 received the J. Neal Ensminger Distinguished Alumnus Award. She earned an M.A. in health management from Central Michigan University in 1983. A board-certified Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, she served on their national Board from 2003 to 2006 and has received several ACHE recognitions throughout her career. In 2010 she was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters in Health Services from Salem State University.
Ms. Nicholas is also a graduate of West High School in Knoxville, TN, where she was President of the Student Body and also voted “Most Likely to Succeed.”
She resides in Boston and Black Mountain, North Carolina with her husband Nick.
###
posted November 4th, 2015
