Laird receives award for rural health service
Posted on: 10/28/22
Melinda Laird, CEO, CNO at Cordell Memorial Hospital, received the Rural Health Leader of the Year award this week from the Rural Health Association of Oklahoma at the Oklahoma Rural Health Conference.
The award recipient “should be an outstanding rural health leader who uses a comprehensive or unique approach to address a specific rural health issue; demonstrates an ability to guide others through complicated rural health issues to achieve a set goal, and/or creates a network or partnership with others to create programs or initiatives that benefit rural Oklahomans.”
Meagan Carter, OHA rural health improvement specialist, nominated Laird for the award. In her nomination, Carter said Laird is a “great” CEO and CNO and a “great partner and outstanding rural health care leader.” She went on to say Laird cares deeply about and is “bettering the health of her patients, employees, and community.”
“While rural health care has its own complications, Melinda Laird’s commitment to tobacco cessation and employee wellbeing in Washita County is admirable. She understands the call to serve not only patients, but also CMH employees as the leader of one of the larger employers in Washita County,” said Carter.
Laird has been a registered nurse for 33 years. She has been in administrative/executive leadership for 25 of those 33 years. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at East Central University in Ada, and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Oklahoma.
Laird began executive leadership in rural health in southern Oklahoma where the importance of being connected and caring for the community was of high value to the organization. In moving to other organizations, her focus was to develop collaborative relationships with leadership and others in the community to align and share the hospitals involvement in the community.
Jana Castleberry, director of the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health and the president of the Rural Health Association of Oklahoma presented Laird with the award.
Other Rural Health Association of Oklahoma award recipients this year include Susan Trippet, APRN-CNP, Beaver County Memorial Hospital, Rural Health Practitioner of the Year; and Angela Smith, RN, McAlester Regional Health Center, Rural Health HERO of the Year.