Two alumnae from MSU’s College of Nursing are among the top 25 women in the health care industry, according to a new ranking.
Patricia Hemingway Hall and Shirley Weis – both of whom earned bachelor’s degrees from the college in 1975 – landed on the magazine Modern Healthcare’s list alongside such well-known public figures as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin.
Hemingway Hall is the first female president and CEO at Health Care Service Corp., the nation’s fourth-largest insurance company. She has grown the company by more than one million members and added new initiatives such as the Healthy Kids, Healthy Families program to improve children’s health. She also is past president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and was the first female vice president of the health insurer Aetna.
Weis is chief administrative officer and vice president of the Mayo Clinic – the first woman to hold that post – and former chief operating officer for Blue Care Network – Mid Michigan. She has been instrumental in diversifying Mayo’s business with the addition of health information publishing, clinical laboratory reference services and technology commercialization. A longstanding member of the College of Nursing Dean’s Advisory Council, Weis established an endowed nursing scholarship in honor of her parents.
The list, compiled annually, acknowledges female health care executives from all sectors who make a positive difference in the industry.