Callahan Honored with THA Pioneer Award

AUSTIN (Jan. 19, 2009) – Teresa Callahan, RN, FNP, chief executive officer of Iraan General Hospital, has been honored with the Texas Hospital Association’s Pioneer Award, an annual award that recognizes excellence in rural hospital management. Callahan will receive the award during THA’s Leadership Conference, Jan. 22 in Austin. The award is sponsored by THA’s Rural Hospital Constituency Section.

Callahan was selected for the honor by the constituency section’s governing council which is comprised of fellow rural hospital administrators from around the state.

Callahan led the effort to create the Iraan General Hospital District, which was a critical step toward replacing an outdated facility with the new $12 million, 34,000-square-foot hospital which opened in April 2008. The 14-bed facility is a Critical Access Hospital and Level IV trauma center.

“The effort it took to become a district hospital was nerve-wracking, and it was the best thing ever for us,” Callahan said. “We had to convince people who were eventually forced to pay taxes for two hospitals – county and district – that it would be a far better service to devote resources to a district facility. Our argument was powerful enough. They voted in favor, by a landslide, to allow the separation.”

Callahan said that getting the hospital district initiative on the ballot was a team effort that involved most of the hospital staff. “We started the petition [for the hospital district] on Friday, had 100 signatures by Saturday and delivered it to the judge’s desk by Monday morning. We had a lot of people behind this effort. The judge was very supportive once the petition arrived. We have a close-knit community where we all enjoy our football and health care.”

Callahan grew up in West Texas as a self-professed tomboy, riding bikes, camping and hunting quail. She earned a nursing degree at Angelo State University and a master’s at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. In addition to being CEO, Callahan is also the hospital’s nurse practitioner. Callahan met her husband in San Angelo and they have been married 30 years. They have four children: three sons, aged 25, 18, and 11, and a 23-year-old daughter.

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About Texas Hospital Association
Founded in 1930, the Texas Hospital Association is the leadership organization and principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and health care systems. Based in Austin, THA enhances its members’ abilities to improve accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care for all Texans. One of the largest hospital associations in the country, THA represents more than 85 percent of the state’s hospitals and health care systems, which employ some 340,000 health care professionals statewide. To learn more, visit www.tha.org.