Doug Lawson Of St. Luke’s Health Receives Prestigious Earl M. Collier Award

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Honored for His Dedication to Excellent Health Care Administration 

(AUSTIN, Texas – March 22, 2022)  – The Texas Hospital Association names T. Doug Lawson, Ph.D., CEO of St. Luke’s Health and SVP of Operations for CommonSpirit Health in Houston, as the recipient of the 2021 Earl M. Collier Award for Distinguished Health Care Administration in recognition of his dedication to the health care industry. The award was presented at THA’s 2022 Annual Conference and Expo – held virtually and in-person this year.

The Earl M. Collier Award is the highest honor bestowed by THA. It recognizes outstanding executives who have distinguished themselves through their contributions to the health care industry and their profession, who are leaders in providing quality health care services and active in THA and other industry groups.

“In the time I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Doug, I’ve witnessed his passion for health care and his innate ability to lead firsthand. Doug’s impact on St. Luke’s Health and on Texas health care makes him incredibly deserving of the Collier Award,” said John Hawkins, president and CEO of THA.

At St. Luke’s Health and CommonSpirit Health, Dr. Lawson leads a team of more than 20,000 employees, caregivers, medical staff and doctors in an integrated provider health network of 16 acute care hospitals and more than 270 access points serving Greater Houston, East Texas, and the Brazos Valley.

Dr. Lawson has built a more than 25-year career in health care administration in a variety of leadership roles, with a strong track record for vastly improving the patient experience by turning around underperforming hospitals. In just three years under his leadership, St. Luke’s Health has been nationally recognized as one of the top health systems in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, the American College of Cardiology and the Leapfrog Group.

Dr. Lawson currently serves on various boards and was recently elected as president of the Board of the American Heart Association for the Greater Houston Division. He is also a board member of the Texas Hospital Association, where he works in collaboration with other members on key federal health policy issues. During the 87th Legislative Session, his advocacy helped lead to the passage of Texas Senate Bill 1876, which requires dialysis centers to have emergency planning measures in place in the event of a disaster that disrupts the water supply. He was also involved in supporting the 2019 passage of Texas House Bill 2059 which requires human trafficking prevention training for frontline health care providers.

Dr. Lawson is also deeply committed to addressing social justice issues that impact access to health care. During the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, he led a partnership between St. Luke’s Health and Texas Southern University — a historically Black college with a reputation for service within its community — to inoculate thousands of at-risk patients.

A Texas native, Dr. Lawson received his Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Dallas Baptist University and his Master of Science in Health Care Administration from Trinity University. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is on faculty at Baylor College of Medicine.


About St. Luke’s Health

St. Luke’s Health is home to 16 general hospitals covering Houston, Brazos Valley, Brazosport, and Lufkin and includes Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, the research and teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine. St. Luke’s Health is also home to the Texas Heart ®Institute (THI) the top ranked heart center in Houston, and the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, a nationally ranked NCI designated cancer center. Its integrated network of care includes more than 380 employed and 1,600 clinically aligned network providers, and more than 11,000 employees delivering high value, nationally ranked quality and compassionate care along with a Christian ministry of healing. St. Luke’s Health is a member of CommonSpirit Health, a national nonprofit, Catholic health system with more than 140 hospitals covering 21 states and delivering care to more than 12.3 million patient visits annually.


About THA

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 650 of the state’s non-federal general and specialty hospitals and health care systems, which employ some 400,000 health care professionals statewide. Learn more about THA at www.tha.org or follow THA on Twitter at https://twitter.com/texashospitals.