Chris Norris, PharmD, alumnus of UT College of Pharmacy, has been named the recipient of Covenant Health’s 2014 Buscetta Award, given to outstanding managers who personify leadership excellence. Norris is director of pharmacy at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, one of nine member hospitals of Covenant Health, a comprehensive not-for-profit health system headquartered in Knoxville.
Norris was selected from among seven finalists. In announcing the award finalists, Covenant Health President and CEO Anthony L. Spezia said they represented “the very best of Covenant Health’s leadership.”
The award is named for Samuel R. Buscetta, retired executive vice president for human resources, who was instrumental in launching Covenant Health’s Journey to Excellence initiative.
Nominees were evaluated in areas such as quality, service, growth, finance/cost management and developing people, along with achievements related to systemwide alignment and innovation.
“I am deeply honored. With all the great leaders in Covenant Health, each one equally deserving of the award, I’m also sincerely humbled,” Norris said.
“I’m thankful for the outstanding executive leadership team which has created a world class health system, one that I’ve been blessed to work for, and care for the patients of, for the past 18 years. I’m also thankful for the senior leadership group and medical staff of Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center for their remarkable leadership and support of pharmacy over the years,” he said.
“I owe many successes and accomplishments to the operations team at Fort Sanders Regional, an exceptional group of high performing directors and managers who work well together for shared success,” he added. “I’m equally grateful for the staff, supervisors, and managers in the pharmacy department who come to work each day with a mindset that keeps the patient at the center of their work. Because of their commitment to excellence, superior results have been achieved in the areas of quality, service, and cost management.”