Jan. 24, 2017:  Betsy Ryan Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from ACHE

PRINCETON – The American College of Healthcare Executives-New Jersey honored Betsy Ryan, president and CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association, with its Lifetime Achievement Award during the organization’s Annual Regent Breakfast and Awards event.

Ryan, the first woman to helm the 98-year-old association, has spent 16 years with NJHA, including nine as president and CEO. Her tenure coincided with unprecedented change in the healthcare field, including implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Ryan is stepping down from NJHA in July.

ACHENJ presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Ryan in honor of her “leadership ability, innovative and creative management, executive capability in developing an organization and promoting its growth and stature in the community.”

Ryan, a resident of Florence, oversees NJHA, the Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey, a not-for-profit affiliate that promotes continuing education, patient safety, quality improvement and research; and the for-profit NJHA Healthcare Business Solutions, which provides group purchasing and other business solutions for healthcare providers.

Ryan started her career practicing law in Mount Holly and went on to serve as assistant counsel under former Gov. Jim Florio and Chief of Staff of the state Department of Health. She also was a senior vice president with the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. and a regional executive for the American Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State.  She served as a member of New Jersey’s Board of Medical Examiners, the Clinton-Gore Transition Team, the legal audit team for the Clinton National Health Care Reform Task Force, and both Governor Corzine’s and Governor McGreevey’s transition teams.

Ryan received her law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University (Cook College).

Photo caption: ACHENJ Regent Nancy DiLiegro, FACHE, chief clinical officer at Trinitas Regional Medical Center, presents Betsy Ryan, president and CEO of NJHA, with the Lifetime Achievement Award.