Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard

Gross Assumes Presidency of Healthcare Public Relations Society

HAZARD, Ky. (May 27, 2009) − David A. Gross, the University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard’s director of research, marketing and community engagement, has been installed as president of the Kentucky Society for Healthcare Public Relations & Marketing (KSHPRM).

The ceremony took place during the society’s Thoroughbred Awards Luncheon, held on May 12 in Louisville as part of the Kentucky Hospital Association’s 80th Annual Convention. Gross, who has been a member of KSHPRM since 2006, succeeds James Stanley, director of marketing and public relations for Kentucky River Medical Center in Jackson.

During the awards luncheon Gross also received a certificate of merit in the Writing category for "Hospitable hospitals," an article he wrote for Rural Health Update, a quarterly newsletter on which the UK Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard partners with three other organizations.

KSHPRM is an allied society of the Kentucky Hospital Association. The society promotes the understanding and support of health care providers through ethical public relations and marketing activities. KSHPRM provides members with opportunities for professional development in order to raise the standards of health care-related public relations and marketing.

"I’m honored to have been selected to lead my fellow health care PR and marketing professionals," Gross said. "I look forward to promoting our profession, the institutions at which we are employed and their collective impact on the health of Kentucky’s citizens."

Gross lives in Jackson with his wife, Jolene, and son, Branston. He is former editor of the Appalachian News-Express in Pikeville and has directed the marketing and public relations efforts at the UK Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard since 2002.

The Center, located at 750 Morton Blvd. in Hazard, works to improve the health of Kentucky’s Appalachian people through education, research, health care services and community engagement. For additional information about the Center and its programs, you may call (606) 439-3557 or 1-800-851-7512.