Casey Cooper, chief executive officer of the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority, has been awarded the North Carolina Healthcare Association’s (NCHA) highest honor — the 2024 Distinguished Service Award. The award is given each year to an NCHA member executive whose contributions to the healthcare field have had a positive and lasting impact at the local, regional, state, or national level. Cooper received the award on July 19 at NCHA’s Summer Membership Meeting.
Casey Cooper, right, chief executive officer of the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority, was awarded the North Carolina Healthcare Association’s (NCHA) highest honor — the 2024 Distinguished Service Award on July 19 at NCHA’s Summer Membership Meeting. The award was presented by Paul Hammes, chief executive officer of Hugh Chatham Health. (NC Healthcare Association photo)
“Cooper’s impact on the health and well-being of North Carolina cannot be overstated,” said NCHA President and CEO Steve Lawler. “His dedication, leadership, and advocacy have transformed healthcare delivery in the state and his contributions truly exemplify the spirit of service and commitment to excellence in healthcare.”
For nearly 30 years, Cooper, a member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians (EBCI), has dedicated his life to addressing health disparities among Indigenous populations and across North Carolina. His leadership extends beyond his role at the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority, which is shown through his service on various boards, including the Dogwood Health Board of Trustees, Western Carolina University, Mountain Area Health Education Center, NC Child, NC Rural Center, and the United South and Eastern Tribes Health Committee. His contributions to these organizations have significantly influenced healthcare delivery and community well-being.
Cooper has served the EBCI and his community since 1993 first as a primary care nurse, then a community health nurse, nurse educator, and as a nursing manager, before becoming the health director of the EBCI from 1999 to 2004. As health director, he helped shape public health policy with a focus on chronic disease prevention and led a community wide initiative to assume the management responsibilities of the CIH from the Indian Health Services through an Indian Self-Determination Agreement. Cooper assumed his current role as chief executive officer of CIHA in 2004.
Cooper is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University, holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is a Former Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
- NC Healthcare Association release
