GREATER PENSACOLA CHAMBER HONORS HEALTH CARE EXCELLENCE AT THE 62ND ANNUAL PACE AWARDS The Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce held its 62 annual Pensacola Area Commitment to Excellence (PACE) Awards on March 24 at the Blue Wahoos Stadium. The 2022 awards honored the hard work and dedication of local healthcare workers. EMERGING LEADER OF THE YEAR
Joy Sharp, Director of Community Health Programs, Baptist Health Care Awarded to an individual in the healthcare field who has shown significant potential for leadership recently in healthcare-related endeavors and who is expected to continue having a positive impact in the community. Joy Sharp leads with a servant’s heart, and will, to make an impact. Those who benefit from the programs she has built for the past 22 years motivate her to be a servant leader. From Memphis Healthy Churches to Pensacola Baptist Health Care, she has been able to manage and build programs that have a positive effect on the community. She was recruited to Baptist to launch the Faith Health Network. No structured program existed that was focused solely on managing population health and helping congregations navigate the complexities of the health care system. The innovative Faith Health Network was created to build a bridge from the hospital to the people within the surrounding neighborhoods by developing personal relationships with local congregations, volunteers, and resolute healthcare professionals.
ADVOCATE LEADER OF THE YEAR
Halliday Leidner, B Virtual Health and Wellness
Advocate Leader of the Year is awarded to an individual in the healthcare field who has shown significant compassion to help or assist others within their leadership role and who is expected to continue having a positive impact in the healthcare community. Halliday Leidner is a native of Baldwin County Alabama by way of Bay Minette and a graduate from the University of Alabama. She worked for the Department of Human Resources for the State of Alabama managing home health care for the poor and elderly. Her visits consisted of assessments, wellness checks, and coordination with home health care agencies across Baldwin and Mobile Counties.
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In 2019, she joined B Virtual Health and Wellness with a steady supply of Diet Coke and a tank full of enthusiasm. She has been on the frontline subduing COVID in our community. When the Delta variant surged last summer and there were not enough testing options available for the community, our winner stepped up to the plate and created a COVID drive-through line to help assist more patients at B Virtual Wellness. You could find her in 100-degree weather on most days in July for 12-14 hours with a smile on her face. With her help, B Virtual has built a consistent model to test and treat patients as our state sites have come and gone over time. Her willingness to get in the thick of things to support her leadership and team to care for our community’s families speaks volumes of her loyalty to the mission of a healthier community.
BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR
Gay Nord, Chief Executive Officer, HCA Florida West Hospital The Business Leader of the Year is awarded to an individual in the healthcare field for outstanding success in healthcare through the development of a new process, product, or service that meaningfully contributes to the healthcare community and who exemplifies the qualities of a business visionary. Since arriving in Pensacola in 2019 Gay Nord has been a force in the community. Because of her transformative leadership, her hospital announced a residency program with the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. This program will ultimately lead to over 180 medical school residents moving to our area to participate in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, OGBYN, General Surgery, Family Practice and Emergency Medicine residency programs. This transformative leader has also opened a pediatric intensive care unit, a freestanding emergency room in the northwestern part of our county, established a comprehensive stroke program, a pediatric spine program, and a structural heart program. While her accomplishments have been outstanding, her true impact on our community has been how she
