SHSMD Elects 2011 President-elect, Directors

Maria Royce Tapped to Head AHA Healthcare Strategy Society

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Chicago (September 14, 2010)—Members of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) of the American Hospital Association have elected Maria Royce, a healthcare public relations, communications and marketing executive from York, Pa., as 2011 president-elect of the SHSMD board of directors. Ms. Royce will become president of the 4,000-member organization of healthcare strategy professionals on Jan. 1, 2012.

President-elect designate Maria Royce is vice president of community relations at WellSpan Health, a regional not-for-profit, integrated health system serving south central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. Before being named to her current position in 2005, she was director of planning and marketing at WellSpan Health; director of public and corporate relations at York (Pa.) Health System; and director of public relations at Ohio Valley General Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pa.

A member of the SHSMD board since 2006, Ms. Royce is currently a member of the Finance Committee. She has played a major role in planning recent SHSMD Annual Conferences, having chaired the Annual Conference Planning Committee in 2009, co-chaired it in 2008 and served as a member of its executive committee in 2004 and 2005. In addition, she has chaired the Knowledge Community Task Force (2007) and the Annual Conference Scholarship Task Force (2009).

Five healthcare leaders were elected to the 17-member SHSMD board of directors for terms beginning Jan. 1, 2011. All will serve three-year terms except Ms. Bendycki, who was elected to a one-year term to fill the vacancy created by the election of Ms. Royce. 

  • Nadine Bendycki, principal and founder, MarketWhys, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Kathy Dean, director of marketing communications, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.
  • Ben Dillon, vice president and e-health evangelist, Geonetric Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  • Christine Gallery, vice president of planning and market development, Emerson Hospital, Concord, Mass.
  • Kevin Stranberg, director of public relations, Memorial Medical Center, Ashland, Wis.

About the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development
The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development is the premier organization for healthcare planners, marketers, and communications and public relations professionals. A personal membership group of the American Hospital Association, SHSMD serves more than 4,000 members and is the largest organization in the nation devoted to serving the needs of healthcare strategy professionals. The Society is committed to helping its members meet the future with greater knowledge and opportunity as their organizations work to improve health status and quality of life in their communities. For more information, visit shsmd.org.