December 18, 2024

Licking Memorial Health Systems (LMHS) President & CEO Rob Montagnese has been recognized by Columbus Business First as part of their newest recognition program, the Innovators in Healthcare and Life Sciences Awards.  The awards were created to honor individuals and organizations making advances in research, and the new technologies improving patient outcomes and driving efficiency throughout the healthcare industry.   Rob was honored in the Community Outreach category.
 
Rob is dedicated to the LMHS mission of improving the health of the community, ensuring that LMHS offers the best quality care, and that residents are able to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  He has recently begun to focus on how social drivers, such as housing, food insecurity, and transportation, affect community health, and is steering LMHS efforts to reduce health disparities in Licking County.    
 
LMHS has been working to assist community members with transportation by offering LMH Ride, free transportation for non-emergent healthcare appointments, and by working with Licking County Transit to establish bus transportation throughout the county.  To address food insecurity, LMHS has been working with the Food Pantry Network (FPN), and assisted in opening the FPN Market in an LMHS building, which is located in an area not previously served by FPN.  Finally, Rob has been working with several local non-profit organizations aimed at helping community members find stable housing.
 
The panel of Columbus Business First judges also considered the contributions that Rob and LMHS have made to the community.  Every year, LMHS participates in numerous philanthropic initiatives including free activities for youth and seniors and supports numerous non-profit organizations.  Rob embraces the knowledge that assisting other non-profit organizations is vital to creating a healthy, thriving community, and improves health as well as quality of life.