During the Tennessee Hospital Association's 2021 Annual Meeting in October, association leadership and the board of directors honored superlative hospital and health system executives across the state. THA President and CEO Wendy Long, MD, and THA Board Chair Paul Korth, CEO of Cookeville Regional Medical Center, presented the following awards:

• CEO of Distinction: Michael Ugwueke, president and CEO at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis;
• Senior Executive of Distinction: Angela Beard, vice president and COO/CNO at TriStar NorthCrest Medical Center, Springfield;
• Trustee of Distinction: William Rukeyser, member of the board of directors at the University of Tennessee Medical Center's University Health System, Inc., Knoxville;
• Nurse Leader of Distinction: Joselyn Freeman-Singleton, nurse manager at Regional One Health, Memphis;
• Clinical Nurse of Distinction:Mark Allen, a registered nurse in the ICU Dept. at TriStar Horizon Medical Center, Dickson;
• Patient Safety Leadership: Gail Fraine, system infection prevention director at Ascension Saint Thomas, Nashville;
• Diversity Champion: Joseph Webb, DSc, CEO at Nashville General Hospital;
• Small and Rural Hospital Leadership: Lisa Casteel, CEO at Henry County Medical Center, Paris;
• COVID-19 Healthcare Hero Award: Paul Deaton, MD, with Mid-South Pulmonary & Sleep Specialists and Hanan McNamee, RN and Callie Lillard, RN, with Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis.