April 1, 2010
Professor Emeritus of Health Services Austin Ross inducted into Healthcare Hall of Fame
Austin Ross, professor emeritus of health services in the UW School of Public Health, was inducted March 21 into Modern Healthcare’s Healthcare Hall of Fame. The late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy also was inducted at the American College of Healthcare Executives 2010 Annual Leadership Congress in Chicago.
The Hall of Fame, which has honored only 87 leaders since starting in 1988, recognizes the life accomplishments of those who have made the most significant contributions to the increased effectiveness or efficiency of the U.S. health-care system and to the health of all Americans. They are exemplars of professional practice, or “the very best-of-the-best,” according to Dennis Pointer, Austin Ross-Virginia Mason Professor at the UW School of Public Health.
Ross received a master’s degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley in 1955. He began his career at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle that year as an administrative resident and retired in 1991 as vice president and executive administrator. He currently serves as a member of the Virginia Mason Medical Center Board of Governors.
In 2000, an endowment was created to honor Ross for his 36 years at Virginia Medical Center and his two decades as a professor in the Master of Health Administration (MHA) Program at the UW. The Austin Ross Endowed Professorship enhances the University’s ability to attract and retain distinguished faculty to the MHA Program.
Throughout his career, Ross mentored hundreds of students and professionals and was the recipient of many awards, including the American College of Healthcare Executives’ prestigious Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Leadership, the American College of Medical Group Administrators’ Harry J. Harwick Award for Distinguished Service, the American Group Practice Association Administrator of the Year Award, and the Washington State Hospital Association Special Recognition Award.
Ross and Kennedy were profiled in the March 22 issue of Modern Healthcare.
