The document is a nomination letter for Michael A. Young, President and CEO of PinnacleHealth System, for a Community Leadership Award. It describes how under his leadership, PinnacleHealth has greatly increased its annual community benefit and charity care. It provides examples of many community programs and initiatives supported by PinnacleHealth, from food assistance and health education programs to revitalization projects. The letter emphasizes Mr. Young's personal involvement and encouragement of employees to volunteer and support their communities.

1. PO Box 8700 BARBARA J. TERRY
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8700 Vice President for
Mission Effectiveness
Location:
409 S. Second Street 717 231-8216
Harrisburg, PA 17104 717 231-8240 FAX
June 21, 2013
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Modern Healthcare – Leadership Award
ATTN: Sarah Wilson
Re: Community Leadership Award – Nomination of Michael A. Young
Dear Ms. Wilson:
On behalf of PinnacleHealth System (“PinnacleHealth”), we submit this letter in support of our
nomination of Michael A. Young, President and CEO, as Community Leader of the Year.
Under the leadership of Michael A. Young, president and CEO, PinnacleHealth System fulfills
its mission as a not-for-profit health system by treating every patient with the highest quality
care. We are dedicated to maintaining and improving the health and quality of life for all the
people of central Pennsylvania, regardless of their ability to pay.
As an anchor institution and a leader in our community, our role has been to care for patients even in
these most difficult economic times. Prior to Mr. Young’s arrival, PinnacleHealth recorded slightly more
than $1 million annually in benefit to the community.
Currently, the depth of support is demonstrated by the provision of nearly $100 million in annual
community benefit programs, charity care and uncompensated care, the highest level of such support by

2. any single provider in the region. As evidenced by consistently increasing amounts of community
benefit services, improving health programs and charity care to our uninsured and underinsured
populations, under Mr. Young’s leadership we are the safety net for many marginalized community
clinics, individuals and especially children.
This year to date, we provided $12.5 million in community benefits, such as free screenings and
community health programs.
Mr. Young’s influence is felt well outside of the walls of PinnacleHealth to support the city of
Harrisburg through direct services as well as significant financial support. A few of those local
initiatives are the Mayor’s Gun Buy-Back program, the Harrisburg Cultural Fest, the City Holiday
Parade, the Latino Hispanic American Health Center Support, and the Harrisburg Schools Athletic
programs. Without his generosity, the school’s athletic and extracurricular activity programs would have
ended.
Mr. Young’s passion and dedication for improving the health of our children and helping children take
an active role in their health and wellness is seen through a plethora of nutrition and after school health
education programs at Harrisburg Schools; distributed 50,928 pounds of food in weekend Power Packs
to 6,366 low income and homeless children; provided nutrition education, healthy fruits and vegetables
to 5,300 elementary children, annually; and placed two educational Kiosks in Marshall and Ben Franklin
elementary schools providing nutrition education and promoting physical activity.
Under Mr. Young’s leadership, PinnacleHealth System addressed the decaying physical environment of
the city by mobilizing over 100 volunteer youth to clean up debris-covered areas and maintained
placement of dumpsters throughout the worst areas to empower community residents to take pride in
their neighborhoods. We launched a comprehensive family-focused childhood obesity reduction
program targeting overweight children ages 6-14 and their parents living in the downtown Harrisburg
areas. Measurable impact of the program is significant resulting in a 3 percentile for age reduction in
BMI among nearly 250 children/families served.
Mr. Young feels that the system’s role is to be a force for stability, strength, and reliability for
those we serve, especially in difficult economic circumstances.
PinnacleHealth System has implemented the following programs thanks to Mr. Young:

3. Funded and led a Community Health Center IT Integration initiative designed to improve
patient care and safety, enhance coordination of care between the health system and five (5)
local health centers (Hamilton Health center, Community Check-Up center, Hope Within,
Bethesda Mission and Kline Health centers ) to build their IT capacity and improve clinical
performance and efficiencies among the clinics
Launched the community health network using Nurse Navigators, social workers, nurses,
dieticians and volunteers to man a plethora of health fairs and health promotion events at the
downtown Harrisburg churches, Harrisburg schools, the Mayor’s health events, clinics,
health centers and nursing homes, and a bi-lingual PinnacleHealth nurse provides patient care
once/week at the Mission of Mercy Clinic in Allison Hill. We further provide an onsite clinic
at Presbyterian Senior Living, a low income senior living facility in the downtown
Harrisburg area
Developed and nurtured a partnership among three highly competitive healthcare
organizations to conduct a five-county Community Health Needs Assessment and engaged
nearly 200 diverse community organizations to find innovative best practice solutions to
address needs in cost effective and innovative ways.
Supported the Greater Harrisburg Healthy Start Program, encouraging PinnacleHealth’s
presence on the Advisory Board for this program of our local FQHC, Hamilton Health
Center that works to improve the health and well-being of pregnant and postpartum women,
their babies, families, and the community by providing comprehensive, supportive services in
the communities where they live.
With Mr., Young’s leadership, PinnacleHealth has imbedded community outreach into its
strategic plan. Our Board of Directors has formed the Mission Effectiveness and Strategic Issue
Committee to elaborate on efforts to meet our mission by incorporating community goals into the
strategic plan of the organization.
In addition to financial support, outreach to the community is crucial to achieving our mission.
Through volunteerism and engagement, we strive to be a force for health and well-being. We
help the underserved, mentor students, lend expertise to community organizations, and educate
the community on disease prevention and management.
Motivated by Mr. Young’s example, PinnacleHealth employees care about their communities.
Last year they provided more than 45,000 hours of community services, including service on

4. community boards and volunteer work. In addition to supporting their communities through
volunteering, PinnacleHealth employees donated $205,000 to local service organizations through
the United Way, collected nearly 2,000 pounds of food for the local food bank and strongly
support employee drives including the nationally recognized Pajama Program.
Many CEOs do not engage directly with employees, but Mr. Young gives of his own time and
sacrifices his own comfort to encourage giving. He can be found regularly participating at
fundraising events such as carwashes, local area fundraising walks like the American Heart
Association Heart Walk, Girls on the Run and many more. In addition, he offers blocks of his
personal time to employees as prizes in programs such as the United Way Capital Campaign,
with a willingness to do any chores he is assigned by the winner. He hosts events at his home to
encourage participation of charitable work as a thank you to his employees.
While this letter is from one employee at PinnacleHealth System, the nomination was heavily supported
by many individuals in the organization. Mr. Young leads by example and makes certain that our
community is best served and always at the forefront of our activities. We truly believe that Mr. Young
has an impressive litany of accomplishments that demonstrates why Mr. Young should receive the
Community Leadership award.
Should you have any questions regarding this nomination or require additional information, please
contact me at your convenience. Thank you for your consideration of this nomination.
Sincerely,
Barbara Terry
Vice President for Mission Effectiveness