AHA to honor five recipients of 2026 Board of Trustees Award

The AHA announced April 13 that Deborah Bowen, president and CEO of the American College of Healthcare Executives, along with four retiring state hospital association executives, will receive its 2026 AHA Board of Trustees Award during the AHA Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C., for their contributions to the AHA and the health care field. Bowen represented the AHA on the governing council of the International Hospital Federation for a decade and served as its president from 2021-2023. She has been with ACHE for 30 years, including 13 as president and CEO.

Also receiving this year's honor will be Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association, Mike Abrams, president and CEO of the Ohio Hospital Association, M. Bea Grause, R.N., president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of New York State, and Steven Michaud, immediate past president of the Maine Hospital Association. Coyle previously spent two decades in senior positions at the AHA, leading its policy development process, engaging with federal officials and serving as a media spokesperson on behalf of the field. She also served on the AHA Board of Trustees, several committees and regional policy boards, and the board of the Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare. Abrams served on the AHA board from 2022-2024, among several other commitments. Grause served on the AHA board from 2012-2015 and was president and CEO of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems for 14 years. Michaud recently retired from the MHA, where he had been president since 1999. He has been widely recognized for his commitment to rural health care and was a plaintiff in the AHA's 340B Drug Pricing Program litigation, among other contributions to the field.