LORETTA M. MCLAUGHLIN, M.B.A., C.P.A '74 SCS
“For her, life is not about what she can get, but what she can give to people…” wrote Joyce Collier, Esquire, about Loretta McLaughlin. The two women met as fellow Board members of the Legal Clinic for the Disabled, a non-profit legal services organization that serves low-income members of the disabled community. Ms. Collier continued by writing, “it is because of Loretta’s constant care and concern that the clinic has been able to provide free legal assistance for over 10 years to hundreds of people with disabilities in the Philadelphia area. It is one of the shining stars of the Philadelphia non-profit legal community and Loretta is still there, helping to ensure a strong future.”
Such comments merely begin to describe the enthusiasm from her colleagues in the academic and healthcare arenas who support the nomination of Loretta McLaughlin for the Chestnut Hill College Alumnae/i Association Distinguished Achievement Award.
Following her years at Chestnut Hill College, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education, Loretta taught the fifth and sixth grade at St. Helena’s School in Philadelphia for four years. She then entered the corporate world as a manager of administration at FMC Corporation, where she soon was elevated to product manager responsible for a $6 million industrial packaging line of products. In 1978, Loretta earned a master of business administration degree from Drexel University and soon thereafter joined the prestigious accounting firm of Price Waterhouse Cooper in Philadelphia as a management consultant. With a new certified public accountant certification to her credit in 1981, Loretta was recruited by ARCO Chemical Company and during her five-year tenure, she excelled in several positions from manager of financial and business systems to controller for Airtron, a $60 million, multi-location subsidiary of ARCO. The year 1986 saw Loretta’s entry into the field of healthcare management, which continues to be her vocation to this day. Between 1986 and 1994, she served the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (DVHC), a non-profit trade association of 80 hospitals in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey as executive vice president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and interim president.
While at DVHC, Loretta took the initiative to launch the Consortium for Latino Health. This coalition of major health providers, insurers, social service organizations, and Philadelphia city agencies seeks to improve healthcare for the Latino community, especially in the area of stroke prevention, a major concern of this minority population.
When she joined Magee Rehabilitation in 1995 as its chief operating officer, Loretta undertook full clinical and operating responsibilities for the hospital. Under her leadership, Magee was twice named one of the nation’s best rehabilitation hospitals in U.S. News and World Report.
In addition to her work at Magee, Loretta is actively involved in stroke and disability awareness and advocacy programs throughout the Philadelphia region. She has received numerous awards for her efforts, including the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ “181 Points of Light Award”, the “Women of Distinction Award” from the Philadelphia Business Journal and the National Association of Women Business Owners, and the “Award of Excellence” from the Philadelphia Committee of Excellence. Loretta also serves on many boards and advisory groups within the healthcare industry while also serving her alma mater as a member the Finance Committee of the College’s Board of Directors. Dr. William E. Staas, Jr., president and medical director of Magee, summed up the impact of Loretta’s career by stating, “as you can tell, Loretta has dedicated her career and a large amount of her personal time to enhancing access to healthcare services among individuals in need. She is deserving of the Chestnut Hill College Alumnae/i Association Distinguished Achievement Award.”
Another colleague, Mrs. Ann Claffey Baiada, RN, CRRN, owner of Bayada Nurses, certainly agrees and wrote of Loretta, “…in addition to her professional attributes and accomplishments, she is compassionate and will go to the ends of the earth to help find resources for her patients and employees. What a credit to Chestnut Hill College this wonderful woman has been!”
We enthusiastically agree with all those who recommended Loretta and proudly award Loretta M. McLaughlin, educator, businesswoman, executive, advocate, activist, and humanitarian the Chestnut Hill College Alumnae/i Association Distinguished Achievement Award.
