ILWACO, Wash. – November 21, 2023 – The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) presented its Ben Lindekugel Governance Excellence Award to Ocean Beach Hospital Commissioner and Board Chair Nancy Gorshe. The award recognizes Gorshe’s continuing commitment to health care leadership in Southwest Washington and her advocacy on behalf of hospitals across the state. WSHA presented the award during its Annual Meeting.
“Nancy is a committed leader who has helped guide major improvements to health care in Southwest Washington,” Ocean Beach Hospital CEO Scott Attridge said. “During her service on the Ocean Beach Hospital Board of Commissioners for the last 12 years, she has worked tirelessly to bring together the community, hospital administration and staff. I am thankful to work with and learn from her.”
The Ben Lindekugel Governance Excellence Award was created in 2019 and is given each year to a hospital board member or commissioner who has displayed exemplary leadership and community service. The award is named after the late Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts Executive Director Ben Lindekugel, who was especially dedicated to ensuring good governance among hospitals across Washington state. Lindekugel died unexpectedly in June 2019.
“Nancy Gorshe has given her expertise and commitment to hospital governance for more than a decade,” WSHA CEO Cassie Sauer said. “Her work improving Ocean Beach Hospital has positive reverberations throughout all of Southwest Washington and the rest of our state. I’m thrilled she won the award named for my friend Ben Lindekugel.”
Receiving the award was especially moving to Gorshe, who also serves on WSHA’s Governance Committee, for several reasons. She was nominated by fellow OBHMC commissioner Madeline Matson and the Bond Community Action Committee. She was one of five fellow Governance Committee nominees and was chosen by them. And, receiving the award was especially meaningful because the Governance Excellence Award was created in memory of her late, longtime friend, Ben Lindekugel.
Gorshe met Lindekugel at the University of Washington in the 1970s when they were both pursuing their master’s in social work administration degrees. Years later, it was Lindekugel who suggested Gorshe join WSHA’s Governance Committee.
The WSHA Governance Committee is made up of hospital board members and commissioners from across the state who lobby the legislature and sponsor leadership education meetings.
“To be recognized by one’s peers is in itself deeply rewarding,” said Gorshe. “To receive an award named after my dear, late friend, Ben Lindekugel, even more so.”
About Ocean Beach Hospital
Ocean Beach Hospital is a critical access hospital—a designation developed to ensure continued access to high-quality health care for rural communities. The hospital is licensed for 25 inpatient beds and operates an active swing bed program—allowing patient rooms to transition between acute care and skilled care services. It is among the largest employers in Pacific County, Washington, with physicians and staff at the hospital and clinics numbering over 180 people.
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