State of Healthcare

The Hartselle Chamber of Commerce is pleased to offer the annual State of Healthcare address, presented by LifeWork Physical Therapy. State of Healthcare will feature area healthcare professionals discussing the current state of healthcare in our community while addressing public health issues such as quality, access, and mental health. This event is open to the public and tickets can be purchased at the registration link.
Doors open & breakfast begins at 7:00 AM. The program will begin at 7:30 AM.

PANELISTS
Click here to submit questions to our panelists

Kelli Powers
President, Decatur Morgan Hospital

Kelli Powers is the President of the Decatur Morgan Hospital. She joined the hospital in August of 2020. Prior to coming to Decatur, she was the Chief Financial Officer of the Huntsville Hospital Health System for 6 years. Recruited to North Alabama in 2010 to lead Athens Limestone Hospital as the Chief Executive Officer through a challenging time with the new Madison Hospital being built. She has over 30 years of healthcare experience. Ms. Powers grew up in Lanett, Alabama and later earned a bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Alabama and a Master of Management in Health Care from Vanderbilt University. She has worked at several hospitals across the state of Alabama including Lanier Health Services, UAB Baptist of Montgomery, East Alabama Medical Center and the DCH Health System. She chairs and serves on numerous boards, and is involved in her community. In 2012 she was named Citizen of the Year for Limestone County by the Chamber of Commerce and in 2015 one of Alabama's most powerful and influential women. Kelli is currently the Chairman of the board of Partner's Cooperative Inc, a national healthcare group purchasing company, Chairman of the Board of Healthcare Worker's Compensation Fund and serves on the BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama Hospital Advisory committee. She is a stroke survivor and very active with the American Heart Association, chairing the 2020 Huntsville Heart Walk.

William E. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Cullman Regional Hospital

Dr. William Smith has been Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Cullman Regional for five years and a member of its medical staff for 36 years. In his role as CMO, he has overseen remarkable quality improvement initiatives including the hospital sepsis protocols which are ranked in the top10 percent in the nation. Dr. Smith is also involved with efforts to improve local access to healthcare services including Hartselle Health Park and North Alabama?s first freestanding emergency department which will be located in Hartselle. During the pandemic he co-led Cullman Regional?s proactive and innovative COVID response which positioned the hospital to be one of the first 13 Alabama hospitals selected by the state to rollout the vaccine. He is a board-certified general surgeon, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the Southeastern Surgical Congress, and has served on several state committees for the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Smith is also a leader in the field of thoracoscopic chest surgery and has spent time around the country providing education to providers on innovative surgical techniques.

Summer Blankenship
Executive Director, Mental Health Association in Morgan County

Summer Blankenship is the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association in Morgan County. She started with MHA in 2018 knowing that she needed her job to be way more than work: she needed to help others, give back and know that at the end of the day, she helped make a difference. Her goal as the new ED is to continue to spread awareness, grow our community connections, and spread the word about all that we offer. Here at MHA, we do not treat but we work to educate, advocate and support mental health.

Justin Graves
Area Agency on Aging Director, North Central Alabama Regional Council of Government (NARCOG)

Justin has served as the NARCOG Area Agency on Aging Director since April of 2022, where he oversees several federal- and state-funded senior service programs for older adults in Morgan, Lawrence and Cullman counties. The programs offered through NARCOG include assistance for caregivers of relatives coping with Alzheimer?s and dementia, prescription medication assistance, Medicare counseling, nutrition assistance, evidence-based health and wellness programs, elder justice, legal services ? including wills, advance directives and powers of attorney ?, and Long-Term Services and Supports through Medicaid Waivers.