Kootenai Health’s director of clinical hospital operations Ann Ealy is a 2021 Soroptimist Coeur d’Alene Woman of Distinction.
During the annual Women of Distinction luncheon on Friday, Nov. 5, Ann was honored with the Health award for her outstanding work in Kootenai County.
“I am very honored to have been selected for this recognition,” Ann said. 
Soroptimist of Coeur d’Alene recognizes women who make significant contributions to our community. It is a chapter of Soroptimist International, a nonprofit that promotes education as the key to unlocking economic empowerment of the world’s women and girls. Soroptimist believes that when women and girls are educated, they have opportunity, choice and power to make healthy decisions for themselves and their families.
For the past 39 years, Soroptimist has presented Women of Distinction awards to women whose dedication to community service and achievements in their respective fields of work and interest set them apart from others.
Ann was nominated for her efforts to support our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped make vaccination available to interested community members. She used creative workforce through an internal and external labor pool. She navigated complicated hospital capacity issues to support the greatest number of community members who required hospitalization.
These efforts were successful as a result of the creativity and determination of many Kootenai Health team members, Ann said: “It all ties back to how we stay true to our mission and purpose and the community we serve.”
“I feel so much gratitude for being nominated and selected for this award,” she said. “As I was listening to the remarkable letters of nomination, I was so inspired by the extraordinary efforts that positively impact our community. I will cherish it always and think that there is definitely cause for Kootenai Health to celebrate as it was the work of the hospital that was being recognized. My nominators Joan Simon, Dr. Karen Cabell and Kim Webb also deserve kudos for taking the time to write such a wonderful recommendation, as well as providing me with confidence, trust and leadership to successfully accomplish the projects.”
See the article in the Coeur d’Alene Press: ‘This is our superpower’ | Coeur d’Alene Press (cdapress.com)
