Ron J. Anderson, M.D., is president and chief executive officer of
Parkland Health & Hospital System, the general public hospital for Dallas
County and the primary teaching hospital for the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Dr. Anderson was named Parkland's chief executive officer in 1982 at age 35, after serving as medical director for Ambulatory Care and Emergency Services
at Parkland and head of the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical School. His belief in the equality of mankind, whether rich or poor, male or female, black, white, yellow, or brown, is central in his personal and
professional lives. From the beginning, he has worked to destroy the glass ceiling; today, over half of Parkland's management positions are held by
women.
Dr. Anderson served on the executive committee of the State Task Force on
Indigent Health Care and in 1985, he played a major role in the passage of landmark
legislation concerning indigent health care in Texas. He was appointed co-chair
of the Attorney General's Task Force to study not-for-profit hospitals and
unsponsored charity care in 1988, and served as a member of Governor Ann Richard's
Health Policy Task Force in 1991-1992. Dr. Anderson is past chairman of the
Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, the Texas Association of Public and
Non-Profit Hospitals, the Texas Board of Health, the National Association of
Public Hospitals, the National Public Health and Hospital Institute, and the
Texas Hospital Association.
Dr. Anderson was a member of the Kaiser Commission on the Future of Medicaid. He
was elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of
Sciences in 1997.
In 1994, he received the John P. McGovern Award for Humanitarian Medicine and
Lectureship from the Association of Academic Health Centers. He also received the American Public Health Association Award for Excellence in
recognition of exceptionally meritorious contributions to the improvement of the
health of the people.
In 2001, he received the American Public Health Association’s Award for
Excellence. He also received the Dallas Baptist University-Oak Cliff Good
Samaritan Award, and the first ever Annual Ron J. Anderson, M.D., Healthcare
Servant Leadership Award from the Alliance for Healthcare Excellence. In 2002,
he became an honorary member of the University of Texas at Arlington chapter of Pi
Alpha Alpha. He recently received the Boone Powell, Sr. Award of
Excellence.
Dr. Anderson was named one of the
100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare for 2007 (he placed 27th) by Modern Healthcare magazine. It was the
fourth time he had been honored on the list. Dr. Anderson has also been
selected as the recipient of the Hall of Fame HEALTH Award from the DFW
International Community Alliance, honoring individuals who, through innovations
and leadership, have empowered new citizens and minorities to be active and
productive members of the community.