Kentucky Hospital Association honors Rep. Rebecca Raymer with Legislative Hero Award

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) – State Rep. Rebecca Raymer was recognized Wednesday with the Kentucky Hospital Association’s Legislative Hero Award during a ceremony at TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital, where healthcare leaders praised her efforts to improve healthcare policy and expand access to care across the Commonwealth.

The award recognizes legislators who have demonstrated leadership in advancing healthcare issues in Kentucky. Hospital officials, Kentucky Hospital Association leaders and community members gathered for the presentation at Greenview Regional Hospital.

Raymer, a registered nurse who began her career at Greenview after graduating from Western Kentucky University in 2004, said receiving the honor at the hospital where she worked made the recognition especially meaningful.

“When they asked me, ‘What hospital do you want to receive this award?’ it was without hesitation that I said Greenview Hospital,” Raymer said. “I spent my entire nursing career here at Greenview, and I am the legislator I am today because I became the nurse that I was here.”

Kentucky Hospital Association leaders credited Raymer for championing healthcare legislation, including efforts to strengthen Kentucky’s system for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE).

“She has put in place legislation that is now the law of the land that sets up the system to make sure that when someone has been the victim of a horrible attack, their hospitals are ready to treat them,” James Musser, senior vice president of policy and government relations for the Kentucky Hospital Association said.

TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital CEO Mike Sherrod said Raymer’s experience as a nurse has shaped the way she approaches policymaking.

“She carries that up to the state and how she thinks. Patient focused, common sense… and she has done that and does not change,” Sherrod said.

Raymer said the leadership opportunities and critical thinking skills she developed as a nurse continue to guide her work in Frankfort.

“I do try to carry that forward into the legislature,” Raymer said. “I think that being a nurse gives you a unique perspective to work on health care policy and honestly in different policies in other areas.”

The Kentucky Hospital Association presents the Legislative Hero Award annually to lawmakers who have made significant contributions to improving healthcare and supporting Kentucky’s hospitals and patients.