News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

Robert M. Sigmond, the inaugural senior scholar in the Department of Health Policy, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, has been awarded the 2005 Walter J. McNerney Fellowship for health system improvement.

The award was recently presented to Mr. Sigmond by the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), an affiliate of the American Hospital Association (AHA). The McNerney Fellowship was developed to increase understanding, unity and collaboration among all segments of health care. It is given annually to an individual who has demonstrated a consistent pattern of leadership and innovation in health care.

“Even after 60 years, Bob has unflagging energy that he devotes to trying to improve the health care delivery system,” said HRET President Mary Pittman. “His efforts on behalf of the Association for Community Health Improvement, for example, clearly demonstrate both his knowledge and leadership-qualities that he is able to bring to our field and the reason we selected him for this year's McNerney Fellowship.”

Mr. Sigmond’s commitment to health care improvement spans more than half a century.  His beliefs, knowledge and achievements in health care management and public service reflect his dedication in community benefit, community financing, community access, community planning, and uninsured and uncompensated care issues, said David Nash, M.D., MBA, the Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor and Chairman of the Department of Health Policy at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

“He has been a great leader, an innovator and a contributor to the improvement of health care and health care management. He has made great strides, in addition to being a strong mentor and a teacher to others,” said Dr. Nash. “His broad experience in his field demonstrates the foundations of the McNerney Fellowship.”

“Bob has been at the forefront of transformation in health care over the last four decades,” said Dick Davidson, president of the American Hospital Association. “Bob understands the role of the hospital as a leading institution devoted to improving health and quality of life for a community’s residents. He has a great deal to give to emerging leaders as they try to better understand where we have been and are trying to go.”

“Receiving this honor holds great significance for me,” said Mr. Sigmond. “While I have devoted much of my life to trying to improve the health-care system, I feel I still have much more to accomplish.”

Mr. Sigmond has been scholar in residence in the Department of Health Administration, School of Business Administration at Temple University since 1985. He is also currently a senior advisor to the Dean of the School of Public Health at Drexel University.

He previously served as executive vice president of the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia.

Throughout his professional career, Mr. Sigmond has held numerous non-tenured academic positions at Temple University, New York University and University of Pittsburgh, with concentration in health services management and public health. He has also served as an advisor on hospital affairs to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in Chicago, director of fiscal studies for the National Commission on Financing of Hospital Care and a research associate for the Hospital Council of Philadelphia and the Governor’s Commission on Hospital Facilities, Standards and Organizations.

Mr. Sigmond has received a number of prominent awards and honors for his work and values including the Dean Conley Award of the American College of Hospital Administrators for best paper in hospital literature. He has also been inducted into the Modern Healthcare Hall of Fame. As a result of his extensive experience and outstanding leadership, Mr. Sigmond has been lauded for his public service roles as a member and a consultant, serving on numerous committees, organizations and boards. Furthermore, he has been a frequent speaker to numerous professional groups and universities and has published more than 100 articles and papers in major professional journals.

Mr. Sigmond received a bachelor of arts degree in 1941 and a master of arts degree in 1942, both from Pennsylvania State College. Mr. Sigmond is a chess enthusiast and volunteers as a coach to young people at an after school chess club.