POTSDAM — On the heels of Sen. Patty Ritchie’s recognition of Marlinda L. LaValley, CEO of Gouverneur Hospital, as a 2016 New York State Woman of Distinction, the board of directors of St. Lawrence Health System adopted a formal resolution on the honor.

The resolution passed unanimously by the board at a meeting Thursday, May 5.

The resolution reads, in part, “be it resolved that the St. Lawrence Health System Board of Directors is proud to congratulate Marlinda L. LaValley on her receipt of the Women of Distinction Award nomination, sponsored by the New York State Senate on April 7, 2016,” noting that her “grace under pressure, service ethic, commitment to excellence in healthcare delivery, and mentorship of future healthcare leaders” resulted in the nomination for the Senate’s Women of Distinction award program.

The resolution enumerates LaValley’s accomplishments, which were the basis for her nomination. These include twice being appointed by the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Board of Directors as interim president and CEO (once in 1986 and again in 2006) and “acting in that capacity to preserve the organization’s strength and vitality until such time as a permanent CEO could be appointed,” and her volunteer service on the boards of Hospice and Palliative Care of the St. Lawrence Valley, the St. Lawrence Health Initiative, on the advisory board of the Northern Area Health Education Center, and on a working group of the North Country Regional Economic Development Council.

LaValley served Canton-Potsdam Hospital in various capacities for almost forty years. She was a corporate officer for over thirty years, serving as the Assistant Secretary to the Corporation and as Community Nursing Home of Potsdam (dba Potsdam Nursing Home) corporate officer from that organization’s acquisition in 1984 until its closure in 2003. In 2012, LaValley accepted the position of Administrator of the former E. J. Noble Hospital of Gouverneur, and the Kinney Nursing Home. Board members noted that she “stewarded these institutions through necessary transition, leading her to be chosen as CEO of the subsequently newly established Gouverneur Hospital.”

SLHS Board Chair Edward Mucenski noted that the board considers resolutions of a congratulatory nature only for the most exceptional accomplishments. He said Board members were delighted with Senator Ritchie’s recognition of LaValley’s contributions to the North County and wanted to take steps to affirm it almost immediately.

For more visit www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/patty-ritchie/ritchie-honors-22-women-distinction.