Chief Operating Officer
Mississippi Hospital Association
Brandon, MS
Marcella McKay serves in a dual role as Chief Operating Officer for the Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA) and President/CEO for the MHA Health, Research & Educational Foundation. Her areas of expertise include health policy, regulatory compliance, patient safety/quality of care, and healthcare administration/leadership. Dr. McKay has over twenty-five years of experience in health care in clinical, education, and administrative positions and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Dr. McKay previously served as Executive Director of the Mississippi Board of Nursing and served on the Board of Directors for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (1991). She currently serves on the National Advisory Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded New Jersey Nursing Initiative and serves on numerous advisory boards/committees for health care organizations and health-related education programs.
Dr. McKay has received awards including executive leadership designation from the Executive Development Institute of the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service (1986); the Mississippi Nurses Association Board of Directors Award for Excellence (2002); recognition as one of the Mississippi Business Journal’s 50 Leading Business Women for 2004; and Mississippi Nurses Association 2009 Nurse of the Year in a Non-traditional Setting. Dr. McKay was selected in 2004 as one of twenty nurses nationwide to participate in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program. She completed the Fellowship in 2007 and has served on the Board of Directors for the Executive Nurse Fellows Alumni Association since 2007, serving the last 2 years as President.