Three SDAHO members have been honored by the American Hospital Association PAC (AHA PAC) for their contributions and advocacy efforts.
Tom Clark, of Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell, and Paul Hanson, of Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls received AHAPAC MVPP Awards. The honor is presented to states reaching their 2016 PAC goal.
AHAPAC MVPP nominees must meet the following criteria:
- Their state hospital association must have reached or surpassed its 2016 PAC fundraising goal
- Each recipient must be from an AHA member institution
- Each recipient must have contributed to AHA PAC in 2016
Clark, a long-time contributor and organizer of SDAHO PAC, helped Avera Queen of Peace raise $2,575 for the PAC. Hanson helped Sanford USD meet its SDAHO PAC fundraising goal in 2016 of $6,375.
SDAHO PAC donations in 2016 totaled $37,255.
Nick Fosness, of Marshall County Healthcare Center Avera in Britton, received the AHA Grassroots Champion Award. The award honors a leader who effectively and reliably delivers the hospital message to elected officials and advocates tirelessly for the hospital and patients served.
Fosness has traveled to Washington, D.C., twice in the past year and participated in the AHA Rural Hospital Health Policy Forum with then Acting CMS Director Andy Slavitt. Fosness also participated on SDAHO’s Vulnerable Communities Task Force.
