Dr. Royce D. Coleman was named the 2011 Emergency Department Director of the Year by Blue Jay Consulting and the Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF).

Dr. Coleman is the Medical Director at the University of Louisville (Ky.) Hospital and Associate Professor at the University of Louisville, Department of Emergency Medicine. He was honored at the Emergency Department Directors Academy in May, and three additional finalists will be honored later this year.

“The Blue Jay Consulting/Emergency Medicine Foundation Emergency Department Director of the Year Award recognizes current emergency department physician leaders who made significant impacts on improving the operations of their departments, resulting in improvements in the quality of patient care,” said Jim Hoelz, Chief Nurse Executive/Managing Partner at Blue Jay Consulting.

“This year’s winner, Dr. Royce D. Coleman, was chosen for his active collaboration with nursing to achieve departmental improvements, his commitment to providing excellent patient care, his work to implement programs to improve the quality of the patient experience and community involvement, as well as professional involvement with the American College of Emergency Physicians,” Mr. Hoelz said.

“An emergency department director wears many hats,” said EMF Chairman Dr. Michael Gerardi. “Daily they are charged with providing leadership, planning, ensuring ethical practices, coordinating with nurses and administrators, improving utilization of the facility, service, and staff – all while ensuring quality care for the patients.

“We are pleased to honor Dr. Coleman, as he truly set himself apart and demonstrated his dedication to improvement and sustaining excellence in both quality of care and employee and physician satisfaction,” Dr. Gerardi said.

The three finalists in alphabetical order are: Dr. Dave A. Holson, with Mount Sinai Services at Queens Hospital Center, New York; Dr. Robert L. Muelleman, with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha; and Dr. Mark Rosenberg, who is with St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, Paterson, N.J.

A panel composed of appointees from EMF and Blue Jay Consulting chose the award winners.