2011 MacEachern Symposium

5/27/2011 - John W. Bluford ’75, president and CEO of Truman Medical Centers in Missouri, was awarded the Laura G. Jackson award at the Kellogg School’s MacEachern Symposium on May 11.

This honor is the Kellogg Health Enterprise Management Alumni Association’s top achievement award and recognizes outstanding Kellogg graduates in the healthcare field. With more than three decades of experience in hospital and healthcare administration, Bluford has served as head of Truman Medical Centers for the past 12 years and has worked for 21 years in leadership positions at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minnesota.

“Not only has Mr. Bluford run two very large and complex public hospitals, but he has also played a significant role in shaping health policy at the national level,” said James Drury, assistant director of Kellogg’s health enterprise management program. “The selection committee was impressed with his career achievements and work on behalf of the healthcare industry.”

Bluford is also the chairman of the board of trustees at the American Hospital Association and is a past chair of the National Association of Public Hospitals, Missouri Hospital Association and Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

The annual MacEachern Symposium features distinguished speakers and business leaders from around the nation to discuss the most pressing issues in the healthcare industry. This year’s topic was “Re-Forming Healthcare After Health Reform: ACOs and Other Innovations in Healthcare.”

The symposium is named after Malcolm T. MacEachern, who in 1943 founded Northwestern’s hospital administration program (now Kellogg’s Enterprise Management program).