Tucker receives Nap Gary Award for Lifetime Achievement

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Tucker receives Nap Gary Award for Lifetime Achievement

ASCA awarded its 2026 Nap Gary Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the ASC Community to Kay Tucker, former director of communications at ASCA, at the ASCA + SAMBA Conference & Expo in Washington, D.C., May 13–16.

“I am incredibly honored to be receiving ASCA’s 2026 Nap Gary Award,” Tucker said. “I worked with Nap for many years, and one of our projects was turning his vision for this award into a reality. Since then, it has been used to recognize some extraordinary people who dedicated years of their lives and made important contributions to the ASC community. It is a privilege to be considered a member of that group.”

In introducing Tucker, Bill Prentice, ASCA CEO, said, “As I am sure many in this room will remember, it was not long ago that we were constantly challenged to explain what an ambulatory surgery center was and where it fit into the healthcare ecosystem. Not only was there confusion about the term ‘ambulatory,’ there was also considerable suspicion about the quality and safety of performing surgery outside of a hospital and a hospital stay.”

Tucker, who worked with ASCA and the ASC community for nearly 30 years, was instrumental in helping to educate the media, insurers, patients and policymakers on the beneficial role of ASCs, said David Shapiro, MD, former president and current member of the ASCA Board of Directors and consultant/risk manager of Ambulatory Surgery Company in Tallahassee, Florida. “Her efforts were so successful that we were able to pivot away from playing defense and shift the conversation to offense, thereby focusing our communications on ASC safety, quality and value.”

During Tucker’s tenure at ASCA, the association expanded its member communications and public outreach efforts and helped build awareness of the many benefits of outpatient surgery and ASCs. Also during that time, ASCA steadily increased its membership numbers and saw significant growth in the total number of ASCs across the country and the number of procedures they performed.

“Without question, for me, the best thing about working at ASCA for nearly 30 years will always be the amazing people I got to work with all that time,” Tucker says. “In the communications and public relations position I was in at ASCA, everything we were able to accomplish took a team, and that team included all of ASCA’s staff, every ASCA member, and all the product and service providers that have supported the ASC community for so many years. I can’t think of a better group of people to have spent so much time with.”

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Criteria and nomination process

Current or former ASCA members as well as state ASC associations can nominate an individual for the Nap Gary Award. The nominee must be an ASCA member who actively worked in the ASC industry for at least 15 years or supported ASCA’s mission in a significant way for at least 10 years preceding their nomination. Self-nominations are accepted.

Submit a completed nomination form available from ASCA, the nominee’s curriculum vitae and up to three letters of support by email to ASCA’s designated contact person Dee Bellfield-Ross. All entries must be submitted for consideration by the ASCA Governance Committee no later than October 1 of the year preceding the year the award will be presented.

Past winners