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Brian Tabor, president of the Indiana Hospital Association since 2016, plans to step down from his job, the organization announced Thursday.
The hospital association said it would begin a search for a new president, and that Tabor would help with recruitment efforts and remain at the post until a new president was chosen.
Tabor, 49, who has acted as chief advocate the state’s 170 hospitals, said the decision to leave was his and he is looking forward to spending more time with his family and pursuing his longtime hobby, birdwatching.
“I have a long way to go to get to my goal of 5,000 species, so (turning) 50 seems like a good time to try to make a big jump toward that goal,” he told IBJ in a text message.
Tabor served as the public face of Indiana’s powerful hospital association throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and frequently spoke out to defend the industry against legislators, insurers and consumer groups who criticized hospitals for what they said were high prices for care in Indiana.
“Our industry couldn’t have asked for a better leader to guide us through these years of monumental health care reform, and we can’t thank Brian enough for his passion and dedicated service to our member hospitals and the patients we serve,” Steve Holman, chair of the hospital association’s board of directors and president and CEO of Union Health in Terre Haute, said in written remarks. “I am confident that our board will find the right person to keep IHA on a successful path for the future.”
The hospital association said Tabor played a pivotal role in expanding health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of uninsured Hoosiers under the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 program, for which he was honored with a Sagamore of the Wabash by then-Gov. Mike Pence.
More recently, he served on Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Public Health Commission, which led to a $225 million public health investment in communities across the state.
“It has been an honor to serve IHA, as the commitment of Hoosier hospitals to delivering the best care to every single patient is unsurpassed anywhere in the nation,” Tabor said in written remarks.
Before being named president in 2016, Tabor served as the association’s chief advocate for hospitals and their patients, representing their interests with state officials, the federal government, the business community, and other stakeholders.
Prior to joining IHA in 2008, he worked in various policy roles for the Indiana General Assembly and the Indiana Association of Realtors.
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