The American Hospital Association (AHA) has presented two federal hospital leaders with awards recognizing their outstanding service to the health care field. These awards recognize uniformed and non-uniformed federal health care leaders who have distinguished themselves through singularly significant or innovative achievements and leadership that have contributed substantially to the mission of the federal health system. The awardees were honored at the AHA’s 2023 Annual Membership Meeting.
“Each day across the globe, the dedicated women and men of our federal health systems make important and innovative contributions to our field by advancing care to those they serve,” said Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO. “We are honored to recognize Captain Davis and Captain Morcom for their significant achievements, selfless leadership, and devoted service to their patients and communities.”
2022 Award for Excellence – Captain Kimberly D. Davis, MD, CEO (Director), Naval Medical Center San Diego, United States Navy
Captain Kimberly D. Davis, who has had 30 years of distinguished service, has been the CEO (Director) of the Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) since 2021, during which she has been entrusted to lead the Navy's largest Military Treatment Facility with almost 6,000 medical professionals. Serving the world's largest concentration of Fleet and U.S. Marine Corps assets, she epitomized diversity-focused leadership with back-to-back Navy Retention Excellence Awards. Captain Davis created a VolunTEEN program and Fleet Week experience with interactive STEM exhibits for 8,000 students. In addition, Captain Davis, a subspecialty surgeon by training, has had a transformative impact on patient safety culture. With her at the helm, NMCSD was distinguished as an American College of Surgeons Meritorious Hospital with top 10 percent surgical outcomes, completed two College of American Pathologist inspections with a 99% score, and earned best practice for Radiological Safety. As the Department of Defense liaison to the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial County, she effectively forged new partnerships with Veterans Affairs and top-tier civilian hospitals to expand graduate medical education sites, recapture care, and strengthen exposure to wartime critical skills. In addition, her team provided continuous medical support around the globe with 1,000 personnel deployed annually onboard USNS MERCY, Operation Allies Welcome, COVID-19 DSCA missions, SPRINT teams, and for public health threats.
2022 Special Achievement Award – Captain Cody Morcom, USAF, PharmD, Commander’s Support Staff Flight Commander and Medical Group Executive Officer, United States Air Force, 436th Medical Group, Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Del.
Captain Morcom has been the Commander’s Support Staff Flight Commander and Medical Group (MDG) Executive Officer at Dover Air Force Base since 2022. His leadership directly impacted significant MDG achievements, including 38 total continuous process improvements, delivery of 11,000 COVID-19 vaccines, and a 91.8% Total Fully Mission Capable Rate (TFMCR) for Air Force pilots and personnel. Overall, his efforts ensured execution of 1,800 missions across 18 areas of responsibility globally, including Ukraine, Afghanistan, and more. In the face of a 67% pharmacy technician manning deficit, Captain Morcom trained nine multi-capable Airmen to sustain critical health care operations for three months as well as forwarded the efforts of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, decreasing antibiotic resistance rates by 20%. Leading up to the launch of MHS Genesis, the Department of Defense’s new electronic health record, Captain Morcom has coordinated training for 291 personnel at Dover across 1,019 training events to ensure 85,079 outpatient appointments, 45,400 dental procedures, 145,000 prescriptions, 82,450 lab tests, and 13,000 immunizations annually, eventually leading to a successful launch in January 2023. In addition, under his watch the Medical Group developed and refined their first-ever prescription texting program that patients could use to request prescriptions or ask questions from the palm of their hand, minimizing the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring timely access to medications.
