Sara Criger, senior vice president of operations at Allina Health, was elected chair of the St. Paul-based Minnesota Hospital Association board of directors in January 2020, weeks before the first reported Covid-19 case in Minnesota. Criger stepped in to provide sound governance and leadership for Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems. She was unanimously re-elected chair in 2021. MHA president and CEO Rahul Koranne credits Criger’s proactive efforts for allowing Minnesota hospitals and health systems to work as one large system of care, including implementation of the Critical Care Coordination Center (C4), enabling the hospitals and health systems to communicate daily on care capacity. Criger coordinated with all levels of state and federal governments and other stakeholders to improve overall community health.