August 15, 2007
YKHC Board Chairman Ray Alstrom, Clara and Bill Morgan, President/CEO Gene Peltola. The photo was taken at the June 27 Executive Board Meeting.
Longtime YKHC Board Member William “Billy” Morgan passes on
Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation will always remember Billy as a plainspoken man who was not afraid to share his opinion. Those plainspoken opinions were only to help the “little people” that he represented with his long service on the YKHC Board.
On occasion, his energetic delivery may have ruffled a feather or two, but his message came from his heart; his message came from his commitment to his family, his neighbors, his region and his belief in health care.
It was in the 1960s when he and Clara started their health careers, stepping forward as “volunteer medical aides” dispensing TB medicine in the middle Kuskokwim villages. The health aide program that we know today is based upon the example of this caring couple from Aniak. The subregional clinics that we all enjoy and use today exist, in part, because of his efforts and his belief that the best medical services are those provided closest to home.
Billy served on the YKHC Board of Directors from 1969 to the late 1980s. He returned in 1992 and continued his service until his passing last week. Billy’s board service included Chairman, Chair of the Governing Board, Finance Committee member, and, most importantly to him, his value to the boards for Mental and Behavioral Health. At the June 2007 YKHC Executive Board meeting, the William Morgan Legend Award was created in his honor for those YKHC employees who demonstrate extraordinary service.
YKHC President/CEO Gene Peltola said, “I’ve always respected Billy as an individual and as a YKHC Board Member because he stood up as a spokesman for his communities. As I remember his handshake, be firm in life, be firm in your duty to the people.”
“A current popular trend in management today is ‘rounding,’ said Jack Crow, YKHC’s Vice President for Health Services. “It means traveling, visiting and talking to people to find out what they really need in health care…Billy was doing that for years, he already had the key.”
Among the many people Billy worked with and supported over the years was Aniak Subregional Clinic Director Sue Hoeldt. Just last month she nominated him for a YKHC special recognition award, saying “As a board member when the Aniak Subregional Clinic has employee recognition events, he always attends and makes employees feel comfortable and recognizes them for their contributions to making the clinic a success.”
Hoeldt says when Billy heard complaints from patients, he would ask questions to determine the appropriate cause and help solve the problem with solutions others may not have thought of. He visited the clinic often to make sure that the tools to provide the highest level of care, either in terms of people or equipment, was available. “His wisdom of the corporation and all the communities was sought out for advice on solutions to providing optimal care,” Hoeldt said.
On behalf of the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation family, In recognition and appreciation of Billy Morgan’s character and accomplishments, YKHC Board Chairman Ray Alstrom extended the deepest condolences to Clara and the Morgan family on behalf of the entire YKHC organization.
Billy Morgan was born June 17, 1928. He died July 21 in Aniak.