Scott Kirkley, MD, was recently recognized for his service to Parkland Health Center as the 2025 recipient of the Parkland Health Center Foundation's Excellence in Healthcare Award.
The award was announced at the third annual Parkland Health Center Foundation Gala and Awards Ceremony on March 1. This award recognizes someone who has made a significant contribution to health care in the Parkland region by implementing change with positive results, being patient, family and caregiver focused, understanding the community’s needs, and driving collaboration.
From 2019 until 2024, Dr. Scott Kirkley served as the Chief Medical Officer of Parkland Health Center. These years included some of the most trying times in health care and hospital history due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Dr. Kirkley’s primary clinical assignment is to provide services through our medical clinic, during the pandemic he supported our full care team in many ways. He assisted in guiding through appropriate care pathways and determinations on implementing infection prevention guidelines to keep our staff and community safe and reducing the spread of this virus. Dr. Kirkley assisted in making vaccines available to our community members who elected to reduce their personal risk as well as the risk of transmitting the virus to many vulnerable populations. He frequently filled in as a hospitalist as our team experienced much higher than normal admissions for care. Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Kirkley advocated for the right information and the right care based on the best scientific evidence available.
Through Dr. Kirkley’s role as chief medical officer and local physician lead for BJC Medical Group, he has made a difference in bringing new and innovative health care to our community. He assisted in advocating for the development of cardiac catheterization services, which since 2021 has allowed nearly 1,800 of our community members to remain in our community to receive this care. Dr. Kirkley also assisted in the design and approval of our new medical office building. He recognized that its presence allowed BJC HealthCare and Parkland Health Center to provide a level of health care access not available to many rural communities.
Dr. Kirkley also serves as the hospice medical director and attending physician for hospice care to patients at the end of life at Parkland Health Center. In this role, he supports the patient and family through the decision to elect hospice, ensures the comfort of the patient, and supports the family through the acceptance of the loss of their loved one.
In his primary care practice, Dr. Kirkley provides care to those suffering for substance addiction. By providing the appropriate support and medication management, he enables our community members to overcome these addictions to live a happier, healthier life. Recently, Parkland Health Center expanded this program to include supporting expectant mothers. Through his collaboration with our obstetricians, he supports our mothers to provide a drug free environment to their babies prior to birth.
In addition to all this, Dr. Kirkley serves on our Parkland Health Center Board of Directors where he has been a leader in setting quality direction, evaluating our success, and assisting in action plans for improvements.
Congratulations, Dr. Kirkley, and thank you for all you do to support the health of our community!