For his firm focus on creating a bedrock of trust, IHH Managing Director & CEO Dr Kelvin Loh has been named Executive of the Year – Healthcare at the 2021 Singapore Business Review (SBR) Management Excellence Awards.
Back in January 2020 when Dr Loh took the helm at IHH, the threat of a global pandemic was already looming.
Convinced that IHH’s future success lay in our ability to build trust with our stakeholders, Dr Loh announced the Group’s bold vision to be the world’s most trusted healthcare services network along with the Refreshed Strategy that would take us there.
Two years on, as we now learn to live with COVID-19, it is evident that our trust-building efforts with patients, people and stakeholders have enabled the company to ride through this unprecedented crisis.
“Healthcare is deeply personal. It’s about people’s lives. Patients will come to us only if they can trust us with their lives. What this means for us is that on a day-to-day basis, we have to deliver on that trust,” said Dr Loh in an interview with SBR.
Citing the pandemic as an example, Dr Loh shared that in many markets we operate in, IHH was one of the first hospitals to support national pandemic efforts by providing COVID-19 testing and vaccination and treating infected patients.
“Over time, our patients saw that they could trust our hospitals to be safe and that we were able to take in both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients at the same time. As that trust grew, our patient volume including elective cases also rebounded. It is because of trust that we are able to have strong recovery and business resilience even while we are in the throes of pandemic as we speak.”
But first and foremost, IHH must be at the front line of trust with our people, according to Dr Loh.
“For our staff to perform their best, they must trust that the company will provide them with the right processes, tools and environment. Not only do we make sure that our people have the right personal protective equipment at all times, we also give our commitment to protect their livelihoods. In return, our staff are willing to stand by us and do right by our patients, delivering care safely to them.”
Congratulations to Dr Loh on winning this annual award that recognises excellent executives, innovators and teams, as well as HR and company initiatives that promote the well-being of employees.
Related Stories
Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong Launches TeleCare SmartHub with SmarTone
IHH Healthcare Singapore and AIA Singapore Partner to Advance Value-based Care
IHH Singapore Advances the Conversation on Healthspan and Longevity
The IHH Sky Race Reaches New Heights at Merdeka 118
Fortis Memorial Research Institute Champions ECMO Excellence at ECMOASIA 2026
On 24-25 July 2026, Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), Gurugram hosted ECMOASIA 2026, a landmark conference that brought together leading national and international experts to advance awareness, education and clinical excellence in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) care across the Asia-Pacific region.
Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur Brings Preventive Care to the Workplace
On 12 August, Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur (PHKL) partnered with Unitrade Industries Berhad and AIA Malaysia to deliver an On-Site Influenza Vaccination and Health Screening Programme at Unitrade's premises, bringing accessible preventive care directly to the workplace.
