More Irish eyes are shining! Congratulations, Mr. Dowling.

Congratulations to Michael J. Dowling, president and chief executive officer of North Shore-LIJ Health System (and native of Limerick, Ireland).  He is  the recipient of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) 2011 Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award for bringing innovation and accountability to health care and contributing significant and lasting improvements to the field.  Mr. Dowling was recognized for creating a culture of mentorship and learning at North Shore-LIJ that underscores his commitment to future generations of health care leaders.

North Shore-LIJ is the nation’s second-largest, non-profit secular health system with more than 5,600 beds and a total workforce of more than 43,000 employees. It comprises 15 hospitals and more than 200 ambulatory care centers throughout the region.  The press release reports that, under Mr. Dowling’s leadership, North Shore-LIJ’s achievements have included:

•     The first health care organization to establish a corporate university


•     The first health care organization to name a chief learning officer


•      The first health system to receive the Ernest A. Codman Award from The Joint Commission for its commitment to quality and patient care


•     One of the first health care organizations to volunteer to participate in the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Quality Incentive


•      Among the first non-profit hospital systems to publicly disclose its hospitals’ CMS quality performance data, patient satisfaction scores, and hospital-acquired infection rates.

Bravo!