Ben E. Owens Sr., a lifelong healthcare and community leader in Northeast Arkansas, died Saturday, June 27, at age 92, but his enormous impact on health care in Arkansas lives on.
Owens began his career in Batesville, where he eventually became administrator of North Arkansas Hospital, now White River Medical Center. After more than a decade in that position, Owens took over leadership of St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro, where he remained for nearly four decades. By the time he retired in 2010 as St. Bernards’ president and CEO, the facility had grown from a 252-bed hospital into a 400-plus-bed acute care regional medical center serving 23 counties.
At St. Bernards, Owens oversaw the addition of cardiovascular care, cancer care, behavioral health services, a women’s diagnostic center, rural health clinics, home health programs, and hospice services. The latter evolved into the Flo & Phil Jones Hospice House, where Owens spent his final days.
Owens also led a successful campaign to bring a cancer treatment center to Jonesboro, which he considered his crowning achievement. Following the opening of the facility, Jonesboro Mayor Hubert Brodell proclaimed an official “Ben Owens Day” in 1989. The St. Bernards Board of Governors later named the facility the Ben E. Owens Cancer Treatment Center, the name it bears to this day.
Owens was involved in numerous community and statewide organizations, serving as president of the Arkansas Hospital Association, a fellow and regent for Arkansas of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a trustee for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, president of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Parents’ Club, president of the Greater Jonesboro Area Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Jonesboro Central Planning Commission, the Jonesboro Airport Commission, and the Downtown Improvement District. In 2018, the ACHI Health Policy Board honored Owens with the Dr. Tom Bruce Arkansas Health Impact Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to improving the health of Arkansans.
Other honors he received over the years included two honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees, one from his alma mater, Lyon College, and one from Arkansas State University; a Distinguished Alumni Award from Lyon College; a Regent’s Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives; the A. Allen Weintraub Outstanding Hospital Administrator Award; and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arkansas Hospital Association.
“Dr. Owens was a transformative, visionary leader,” said ACHI President and CEO Craig Wilson. “He not only led the growth of St. Bernards into the premier healthcare organization in Northeast Arkansas but also helped to develop Jonesboro into the thriving community it is today. His commitment to improving the health and quality of life of Arkansans was unparalleled.”
Owens is survived by his wife, Dixie Lucille Owens; two children; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. His funeral was held today (July 1) in Jonesboro.
