For immediate release

CHICAGO, July 27, 2005—As winners of the American College of Healthcare Executives’ 2005 Health Management Research Award, Andrew N. Garman, Psy.D., and J. Larry Tyler, FACHE, FAAHC, will receive $25,000 to launch a study, titled “Succession planning practices and outcomes in U.S. hospital systems: A survey of current and best practices,” designed to give a better understanding of succession planning in healthcare organizations.

Their research will explore the difficulties in implementing top-level succession planning in hospital systems, despite its perceived benefits. The researchers will survey chief executive officers to determine to what degree succession planning is used in hospital systems; to what extent hospital leaders have been involved with the process; current approaches to healthcare executive succession; individual and organizational barriers to establishing a program; and the perceived value of succession planning in healthcare organizations. Survey responses will be analyzed to develop a data-based definition of “best practices” in CEO succession planning in hospital systems.

Garman and Tyler also received the 2003 Research Award to examine succession planning practices and outcomes in hospital systems. Their latest study is an extension of this earlier work.

ACHE introduced the Health Management Research Award in 1988 to enhance managerial effectiveness and/or career opportunities in health services administration. It is awarded annually through monies left to the Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives by the late Foster G. McGaw, founder of the American Hospital Supply Corporation. The award is granted to ACHE affiliates who are full-time faculty of health administration programs. Selections for the award are made by ACHE’s 12-member Higher Education and Research Committee.

Garman is associate professor in the Department of Health Systems Management at Rush University in Chicago. He is also a Faculty Associate of ACHE. Garman earned his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, and his master’s degree in personnel/human resource development from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Tyler is president of Tyler & Company, a healthcare executive search firm based in Atlanta. He earned his master’s degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta. He is board certified in healthcare management and an ACHE Fellow.

The American College of Healthcare Executives is an international professional society of 30,000 healthcare executives who lead our nation’s hospitals, healthcare systems, and other healthcare organizations. ACHE is known for its prestigious credentialing and educational programs and its annual Congress on Healthcare Management, which draws more than 4,000 participants each year. ACHE is also known for its journal, the Journal of Healthcare Management, and magazine, Healthcare Executive, as well as ground-breaking research and career development and public policy programs. ACHE’s publishing division, Health Administration Press, is one of the largest publishers of books and journals on all aspects of health services management in addition to textbooks for use in college and university courses. Through such efforts, ACHE works toward its goal of being the premier professional society for healthcare leaders by providing exceptional value to its members.