Contact: Debra Thompson
Assoc. Director, PR & Communications
540-564-5886 

 

 

 

Barbara B. Stoltzfus, chair of the RMH Board of Directors, has received the 2007 Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) Award for Excellence in Governance.

The award was presented during the 81st Annual Meeting of the VHHA Membership at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia in October.

The Excellence in Governance Award, which VHHA established in 2005, honors persons from member hospital or health system governing bodies who have a history of making significant contributions to the health care field, on both a state and local level, through commitment to service and leadership.

 

“I feel honored to receive this award,” Stoltzfus said. “Life’s experiences are shaped by those who we have worked and lived with. I am grateful for my family of origin, where I learned about service; for my husband and children; and for the opportunities to be associated with a most wonderful and competent management staff and employees at RMH, as well as the VHHA.”

 

Stoltzfus was appointed to the RMH board of directors in 2000 and became chair in 2003.  She has led the board as RMH moves into its second century of serving the citizens of Harrisonburg and the surrounding region through the construction of its new hospital, scheduled for occupancy in summer 2010.
 

“Barbara serves with compassion, kindness, humility and strength,” said RMH President Jim Krauss. “Her steady, visionary leadership is equaled by her genuine concern for, and interest in, the staff who provide the care, and the community that we serve.”

 

Stoltzfus has spent much of her adult life serving on various non-profit boards, including those of Eastern Mennonite High School, Eastern Mennonite University, the United Way and the Rockingham County Foundation. The most rewarding service of all, she says, has been in health care governance.

 

“I have been extremely blessed to be involved in healthcare opportunities and continuous learning,” Stoltzfus said. “Healthcare is an ever-changing environment, and the care and safety of the patients in our community is of utmost importance.”

 

Stoltzfus began her professional career as a registered nurse in Pennsylvania. She left health care early in her career to start a family and to assist her husband with starting a new business. She worked in the family business, Dynamic Aviation in Bridgewater, for 38 years and devoted even more of her time to volunteer work, including her board service at RMH.

 

She also serves as a member of the VHHA board of directors, as a regional trustee alternate to the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 3 and on the American Hospital Association Committee on Governance as its Region 3 Trustee Liaison.