Dr. Ron Anderson began his career caring for many patients each day. Now he oversees
the care for thousands of patients a day and has become an advocate for health care
for all people. Ron is the president and chief executive officer of Parkland Health
and Hospital System in Dallas – one of the premier public hospitals in the United
States.
He attended the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts from 1965-66 before finishing a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma.
He has long championed causes that improve health care for the medically underserved and, as a result, has become one of the nation’s leading advocates of health care for the poor.Throughout his career, he has provided advice and experience to legislators from both parties regarding health care issues.
He served on the National Health Policy Initiative to advise the White House on health care issues as well. He has served on the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
Ron holds a vision of health care for all, regardless of ability to pay, and his desire to see that happen has led to groundbreaking changes to the U.S. health care system. In 1985, he played a role in the passage of landmark legislation concerning indigent health care in Texas that banned “patient dumping.”
Ron became a national spokesperson on this issue and his work ultimately led to the passage of federal legislation signed into law in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. He is quick to credit any success at Parkland to the support of the Dallas county community and the hospital’s dedicated doctors, nurses and staff. He is a true believer in servant leadership.