CEO Owen Bailey receives state and national awards for service and leadership

By Casandra Andrews
candrews@health.southalabama.edu

Owen Bailey, M.S.H.A., FACHE, chief executive officer and senior associate vice president for medical affairs at USA Health was honored with two prestigious awards during the Alabama Hospital Association’s (AlaHA) annual meeting in June.

He also was named to the 101 Academic Medical Center CEOs to Know for 2023 by Becker’s Hospital Review on June 14.

To recognize his outstanding achievement in service to Alabama’s hospitals and their patients, he received the Alabama Hospital Association’s Distinguished Service Award. He also was the recipient of the AlaHA Grassroots Award for his exceptional leadership in generating grassroots and community support of the important mission of hospitals.

“Owen has provided tremendous leadership for the association in a number of areas,” said Donald E. Williamson, M.D., president of the Alabama Hospital Association. “He has served as chairman of the board of trustees, as a delegate to the American Hospital Association, as a local hospital council president, and as chair of numerous association committees. These two awards reflect that level of service and are well deserved.”

Since joining USA Health and leading an addition and renovation that doubled the size of Children’s & Women’s Hospital more than a decade ago, Bailey has been a driving force behind the health system’s expansive growth from six facilities in 2016 to nearly 30 care-delivery sites this year. Today, USA Health and the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama are responsible for a more than $1 billion annual impact on the Gulf Coast economy.

His accomplishments, however, go far beyond bricks and mortar.

“Owen is a true servant leader who understands the importance of meeting the needs of our team members and the community,” said John V. Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine. “His sense of service extends to our patients, the community and beyond our state.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bailey led a team that worked with city, state and national officials to ensure our community received needed testing and vaccine supplies, then created partnerships with the City of Mobile, two of the state’s largest public-school systems, and dozens of local and state businesses to operate mass drive-through vaccine events that resulted in thousands of people receiving protection against the virus. He also supported a grassroots effort through a partnership with local pastors and community leaders to bring vaccine clinics to community centers and places of worship in areas where access to transportation is often limited.

In 2021, Mobile’s mayor, Sandy Stimpson, recognized him and five other USA Health team members with the Exceptional Citizenship Award for “exceptional efforts to provide healthcare during the pandemic.”

Bailey has received many other awards, including the Up and Comer Award from Modern Healthcare magazine, the Young Healthcare Executive of the Year, and the Regent’s Award from the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Bailey is a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives. He serves as the state delegate to the American Hospital Association’s Regional Policy Board and is past chair of the Alabama Hospital Association Board of Directors.

He currently serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Business Council of Alabama, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Hancock Whitney Bank Alabama Market Advisory Board, America’s Essential Hospitals Membership Committee, and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers.

He has served on the boards of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and the University of Mobile. He is past chairman of the Southwest Council for the Alabama Hospital Association, Mobile Area Education Foundation, Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council, and the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in health administration from Auburn University, where he served as drum major of the Auburn University Marching Band. He also earned a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He and his wife, Genie, have four children.