Michael K. Givens, FACHE, COO/administrator, St. Bernards Medical Center, Jonesboro, Ark.

He also serves on the Board of Governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives, an international professional society of more than 49,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations. With comprehensive programs in credentialing, education, career counseling, publications and research, ACHE works toward its goal of being the preeminent professional society for leaders dedicated to advancing health.

Board certified in healthcare management as an ACHE Fellow, Mr. Givens served as the ACHE Regent for Arkansas from 2019 to 2022 and on various ACHE committees. He was also president of the Arkansas Health Executives Forum, an ACHE chapter, from 2014 to 2016, in addition to serving as the chair of various chapter committees.

Mr. Givens joined St. Bernards Medical Center in 2001 as director, patient care financial operations, before moving into the role of assistant vice president of patient care services that same year. In 2006, he was promoted to the position of vice president of patient care services—a role he held until 2010 before assuming his current title. Previously, he was a graduate teaching assistant at Harding University, Searcy, Ark., from 1999 to 2001, and an administrator with HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospitals in Arkansas from 1995 to 1999.

In addition to his service to ACHE, Mr. Givens is a member of the Arkansas Health Executives Forum and a Northeast Arkansas district member of the Arkansas Hospital Association. He is also a volunteer with El Centro Hispano, the Hispanic Center of Jonesboro; a member of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce; a preceptor for MHA Administrative Fellows at the University of Alabama, Birmingham; and an International Missions team leader.

He has received various accolades during his career, including the Arkansas Hospital Association C.E. Melville Young Administrator of the Year in 2011. Arkansas Business recognized Mr. Givens as an “Outstanding Young Executive” in 2007 and named him to its “40 Under 40” list in 2009. Additionally, he received the Service Award (2011), the Distinguished Service Award (2015) and the Exemplary Service Award (2021) through ACHE’s Recognition Program, as well as an Early Careerist Healthcare Executive Regent Award from ACHE in 2006.

Mr. Givens earned his MBA from Harding University, Searcy, Ark., and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.