From one health care leader to another… Just got word that Joel Allison, BA ’70, president and CEO of Baylor Health Care System, will receive the Texas Association of Business Dallas Chapter’s 2012 Distinguished Business Leader Award at a luncheon in April.
Allison has led Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) — Dallas’ third-largest private employer — since 2000, overseeing a network of hospitals and clinics that care for more than one million patients each year. (And in case you’re wondering… Yes, BHCS does draw its name from a historical connection to Baylor University that dates back to 1920.)
In receiving this latest award, Allison joins an impressive list of former honorees that also includes such names as T. Boone Pickens, H. Ross Perot, Ray Hunt and Dick Cheney. But such recognition is nothing new; the BHCS CEO has been among Modern Healthcare‘s “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” seven of the last eight years.
Even while serving in the Metroplex, Allison has stayed connected to his alma mater. The former football letterwinner, pictured at far right with President Ken Starr and Director of Athletics Ian McCaw, joined the Baylor “B” Association’s Wall of Honor two years ago and is a frequent speaker at Baylor Business Network gatherings in Dallas and Fort Worth. He also lent his voice in calling for the preservation of the Big 12 in 2010 and served on the executive committee for President Ken Starr’s inauguration. He will join Baylor University’s Board of Regents this summer.
Sic ’em, Joel!
[3/8 update: Christianity Today just ran an excellent article on Allison, detailing how operating hospitals is his ministry. The first paragraph: "Joel Allison had every intention of entering the ministry when he arrived at Baylor University on a full athletic academic scholarship. He just didn't anticipate what kind of ministry would be involved. A chance visit to a small-town Texas hospital shifted his vision." Read the entire article here.]
