Stephen A. Williams

Stephen A. Williams , president and CEO of Norton Healthcare, has been selected for induction into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame, established in 1982, recognizes outstanding business leaders who have made significant contributions to the free enterprise system.

A 1972 MSU graduate, Williams will be among five people inducted at Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana Inc.’s annual awards dinner on March 6, 2006. Recipients are chosen by a selection committee that is independent of Junior Achievement and its board of directors.

“Hall of Fame laureates serve as an inspiration to the students who receive support from Junior Achievement in furthering their understanding of the business community,” said Thelma Ferguson, president of Chase Bank’s operations in Kentucky and Southern Indiana and chair of the selection committee. “Steve Williams has guided Norton Healthcare from a relatively small, two-hospital organization to a five-hospital integrated health care system with $1 billion in annual net revenue and a 45 percent market share. Throughout his career, he and Norton Healthcare have maintained a strong commitment to community service and helping young people enter and succeed in the business world.”

A 2000 Murray State University Distinguished Alumnus recipient, Williams said the foundation for his entire professional career began at MSU. “I am deeply indebted to MSU for giving me the great start to a very gratifying career.”

Williams believes his rural western Kentucky roots have also aided him in his professional endeavors. “My parents were great encouragers and, as a result, I never really considered not going to college,” he said. “Choosing healthcare management, and the great passion I have for it, was a direct outcome of an upbringing that embraced the golden rule and a great academic experience in Murray State’s College of Business.”

Williams said he was greatly honored and humbled to be selected. “I owe my career to leaders who were tremendous mentors to me, who saw more potential in me than perhaps I saw in myself,” he said. “I have strived over the years to repay those blessings by trying to be an encourager and supporter of young professionals who also had potential to grow into great leaders in the context of the mission and values of Junior Achievement. So, receiving this award from JA is a great honor, and I am so appreciative.”

Williams joined Norton Healthcare in 1977 and has served as president and CEO since 1993. During his tenure as CEO, the organization has more than doubled in size, and is now the largest health care system in Kentucky and has been recognized as one of the top 100 integrated health care delivery systems in the nation.

Williams is widely known for advancing the field of health care quality measurement and management. In March 2005, Williams was the driving force behind development and implementation of the Norton Quality Report, an interactive online report on the system’s results for nearly 300 nationally recognized indicators/measures for clinical quality, patient safety and patient satisfaction. His development of Total Quality Management in the health care industry during the mid-1980s led to Norton becoming the first in the nation to receive Healthcare Forum’s Commitment to Quality Award in 1988, the only national award at that time for leadership in health care quality.

Norton Healthcare has also been recognized nationally for developing innovative solutions to the health care workforce shortage, and is the 2005 and 2003 recipient of the KentuckianaWorks Outstanding Employer of the Year Award. Under Williams’ leadership, Norton Healthcare has developed a variety of programs that help young people develop an interest in and pursue health care careers.

Williams is active in health care and civic organizations on the national, regional and local levels. He has served on the boards of the American Hospital Association, Kentucky Hospital Association, Greater Louisville Inc., University Medical Center, the Greater Louisville Health Enterprises Network, Success by 6, Leadership Louisville Foundation, Fund for the Arts, Greater Louisville Economic Development Partnership and many others. He received the first Jerome T. Bieter Award for Outstanding Leadership from the University of Minnesota, where Williams received his master’s degree in healthcare administration.

Williams and his wife, Kathy, live in Goshen, Ky., and maintain a part-time residence on the Livingston County farm where he was raised in western Kentucky. They have two grown sons: David, in Louisville, and Matt, in Chicago.

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