Rural Hospital, Health System Leaders To Receive Association’s Annual Awards, National Campaign to Receive Community Service Award
Columbus, Ohio (43215) – In recognition of National Hospital Week, May 11-17, the Ohio Hospital Association today announced the honorees of its annual leadership awards to be recognized at OHA’s annual recognition dinner event, during the association’s annual meeting on May 20 at the Hyatt Regency Columbus.
This year’s leadership award honorees are:
- Lisa Klenke, BSN, RN (Coldwater), CEO, Mercer Health, will receive OHA’s Donald R. Newkirk Award. The award is named for Don Newkirk who led OHA for 27 years and recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the health care profession in Ohio.
- Brian Smith (Loveland), president & COO (retired), Bon Secours Mercy Health, will receive OHA’s James R. Castle Distinguished Service Award, which honors an individual whose professional attainments embody qualities of an outstanding leader or mentor for service to the health care community. This award is named for OHA’s president and CEO for 23 years, from 1989 through 2011.
- Disappearing Doctors (New York, NY) will receive OHA’s Dr. Eli Crew Community Service Excellence Award. This award recognizes an individual’s or organization’s support of the health care industry. The award is named in honor of Dr. Eli R. Crew, former superintendent of Dayton’s Miami Valley Hospital and OHA’s first president. In 1914, he led Ohio hospital administrators to an organizational meeting at Cedar Point, Sandusky where OHA was founded.
“The contributions and impact of the honorees for our annual leadership awards this year are remarkable and we are honored to recognize their achievements,” said Mike Abrams, OHA president and CEO. “Lisa is a great advocate for hospitals promoting the impact caregivers have in providing services. Brian is a tremendous strategist helping shape health care policy development locally and federally to bring health care resources to our communities. Workforce wellness and support is an important priority for hospitals and the Disposables art project developed by an Ohioan promotes important awareness of physician suicide throughout the country.”
Lisa Klenke
Klenke served 20 years as Chief Nursing Officer, and another 12 years as CEO at Mercer Health. During Lisa’s leadership tenure, Mercer Health saw much growth and enhancement of healthcare services, most notably, the West Wing Expansion at Mercer Health’s Mercer County Community Hospital, which opened its doors in October 2018. She led the Mercer Health organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, implementation of the EPIC EMR system, acquisitions of several local private practices, development of new services including mental wellness and healthy weight and wellness and the expansion of health care services into Auglaize County and the Maria Stein and Mendon communities. Furthermore, under her leadership, Mercer Health’s quality of care was recognized nationally as a TOP 100 rural and community hospital in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025; and as one of the top 20 rural and community hospitals in the nation in 2024. In 2025, Mercer Health was recognized as one of America’s Best-in-State Hospitals, sharing the honor with much larger health systems.
Beyond Mercer Health, she served the broader hospital and nursing communities, holding various leadership positions in nursing, quality and regulatory compliance. She served on the Board of the Ohio Organization of Nurse Leaders, the American Organization of Nurse Executives Quality and Patient Safety Committee and Regulatory Monitoring Committee. Lisa served sixteen years on the Ohio Board of Nursing and is a past president. She was a member of the OHA Board of Trustees. In 2011, she received the Exceptional Leadership Award from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) for her achievements as the Ohio Board of Nursing President and her contributions to NCSBN initiatives, received the Nursing Leadership Award from the Ohio Organization of Nurse Executives and was recognized by the Ohio Senate for her work in nursing regulation.
Brian Smith
After 32 years of dedicated leadership in the health care industry, Smith has made significant contributions to the success of Mercy Health and the communities it serves, leaving a lasting impact on the organization and the broader health care community.
Retiring in 2022 as President of Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH), Smith’s career spanned decades of dedicated service and visionary leadership, helping shape the future of health care in Ohio and beyond.
His journey with Mercy Health began in 1990, when he joined the human resources department at Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima. Over the course of 22 years at St. Rita’s, he earned recognition for his leadership in various human resources roles, eventually serving as Senior Vice President of Human Resources. His deep understanding of people and organizational dynamics was foundational to his later success in hospital operations.
Under his leadership, St. Rita’s embarked on the ambitious $130 million expansion project that significantly enhanced patient care and advanced medical services for the Lima region. His influence extended further in 2004 when he played a pivotal role in launching the Institute for Orthopedic Surgery Hospital joint venture, which has since become a cornerstone of orthopedic care in the region.
Smith’s leadership continued to evolve as he broadened his scope and influence across Mercy Health. In 2012, he joined the leadership team at Catholic Health Partners (which later became Mercy Health) as Executive Vice President of Operations. In this new role, Smith demonstrated exceptional strategic vision and operational expertise, playing a key part in growing Mercy Health’s presence in the Toledo, Youngstown and Lorain markets. His leadership was instrumental in the multi-year development of the Mercy Health Perrysburg campus, culminating in the opening of the $63 million Mercy Health – Perrysburg Hospital in 2019, a state-of-the-art facility that continues to serve the health care needs of the region.
In 2018, Bon Secours and Mercy Health joined forces to become an innovative thought leader and the fifth largest Catholic Health care system in the country. Smith served as COO and later, President, guiding operations and working alongside the CEO to ensure the newly launched organization remained true to its mission.
Beyond his professional achievements, Smith’s commitment to community service and industry leadership has been equally impressive. A proud native of Jackson, Ohio, he has been deeply involved in a wide range of boards and civic organizations including eight years on the OHA Board of Trustees. Smith also served as the past Chairman of the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce and was an active member of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He contributed to the success of the Summa Health System Board of Directors and Mercy College of Ohio’s Board of Trustees, while also lending his expertise to the Advisory Board for the James Dicke College of Business Administration at Ohio Northern University. Smith’s educational background, with a Bachelor of Science from Ohio Northern University and a master’s in business administration from Ashland University, provided a solid foundation for his career.
Disappearing Doctors
A traveling art installation, The Disposables, debuted in Ohio on Sept. 13, 2023, as part of National Physician Suicide Awareness Day. The Disposables art event featured an original collection of powerful portraits and stories of physicians who have died by suicide. Created by artist Jeremy Rosario (Delaware, OH), each striking portrait is handcrafted using donated disposable medical supplies from physician’s workplaces.
The art display is part a national initiative, Disappearing Doctors, that is focused on fighting doctor burnout and suicide and is spearheaded by FCB Health New York. Burnout among physicians and health care workers is a growing concern. More than 400 doctors die by suicide each year, 63 percent report feeling burned out, and 1 in 5 plans on leaving the medical profession entirely.
About OHA
Established in 1915, OHA is the first state hospital association founded in the United States with a mission to collaborate with member hospitals and health systems to promote a sustainable health care system so that Ohioans have access to high quality hospital care in their communities. OHA represents Ohio’s 250 hospitals and 15 health systems and is based in Columbus. Ohio hospitals and health systems employ 375,000 people and contribute $102.9 billion to Ohio’s economy while providing $5.58 billion in net community benefit. OHA is nationally recognized for patient safety and health care quality initiatives and environmental sustainability programs.
