W. Scott Fry, who helped bring often competing health systems to common cause as longtime head of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, died Sunday at his Sylvania residence. He was 76.

The cause of death was not yet known, but he had been dealing with complications after surgery several weeks ago, said his wife, Barbara Fry.

He had been president and chief executive since 1985 of the council, made up of hospitals across northwest Ohio, and of Northwest Ohio Shared Services Inc., the regional marketing arm for a national group purchasing organization. The executive committee of the council’s board of trustees will guide the organization in continuing programs and services, and an executive search will be conducted, the council said in a statement.

Mr. Fry’s mission was to have health care organizations that are competitive be collaborative, as well, said Jan Ruma, who worked with him for 24 years.

“He was a statesman as far as being able to listen and identify barriers and opportunities and be realistic about what opportunity there was to move forward,” said Mrs. Ruma, former hospital council vice president and now president and chief executive of Pathways Community HUB Institute. “He was a really strong communicator. He wanted to distill what needed to be done, and is there support. It’s a fine-tuned set of skills. How many people keep the same job for 37 years? He was obviously good at it.”

Health care executives praised his leadership.

“Scott will be remembered most for his passion and influence in leading collaborative efforts among hospitals and health systems in our region,” Ginger Petrat, vice president of marketing and business development at McLaren St. Luke’s Hospital said in a statement.

They focused as well on Mr. Fry’s work to foster cooperation during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Mr. Fry’s contributions...played a critical role in ensuring there was a united approach to benefit the health of our community,” said Richard Swaine, chief executive of University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio hospital, in a statement.

Dawn Buskey, president of acute care at ProMedica, said in a statement: “His selfless efforts during that challenging and unprecedented time, combined with decades of contributions to support better health outcomes, amount to a legacy of positive change for which we in the local healthcare industry are tremendously grateful.”

That work took place across the hospital council’s 18-county area, especially through the healthcare emergency management coalition, coordinated by the hospital council, said Jeffrey Dempsey, chairman of the hospital council’s board of trustees.

“It’s about improving the community and pulling together to improve the health of the community. That’s a common thread everyone can get on board with,” said Mr. Dempsey, who is president of Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center.

And initiatives Mr. Fry championed extended beyond hospital hallways, including community health improvement plans, Toledo/Lucas CareNet for low-income residents — inspired by the late Jack Ford, a former Toledo mayor — and the regional trauma registry that furnishes data to the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

“Scott’s one of those folks who was so involved in the community and health care, I think everyone knew Scott,” Mr. Dempsey said. “He brought a smile to everyone’s face, whoever met him.”

While serving as a greeter at the Rotary Club of Toledo, Mr. Fry would connect by talking baseball, Mr. Dempsey said. Or Mr. Fry would use humor, often self deprecating, to lighten a moment, Mrs. Ruma recalled. 

“He was kind of a Renaissance man. He probably had the most extensive vocabulary of anyone you would meet,” Mrs. Ruma said. Yet he took the calls from residents with healthcare questions or problems who happened upon the hospital council’s phone number. 

“He wanted to be responsive to people’s individual concerns,” Mrs. Ruma said. 

He could strategize “and get the big picture,” his wife said, “but very unconventional.

“He was indefatigable. He loved words and the power of words. He admired Martin Luther King and Gandhi,” Mrs. Fry said. “He was a private person about his faith, but he loved Scripture and the power that was there if you were doing the will of God. He felt that healthcare and helping people, that was a calling to him.”

William Scott Fry was born Sept. 15, 1945, in Williamsport, Pa., to Betty and William M. Fry. He played youth baseball in his hometown, known as the site of the Little League World Series, and he remained a student of the sport. He was a 1963 graduate of Williamsport High School. 

He had a bachelor’s degree in economics from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He completed course work at New York University toward a doctorate with an emphasis on mental health administration, his wife said.

He was executive director of the York Mental Health Center, York, Pa., when the Lucas County mental health board in 1981 hired him to coordinate emergency services at Rescue Crisis mental health agency in Toledo.

He’d served on committees of the American Hospital Association, the Ohio Hospital Association, and the Conference of Metropolitan Hospital Associations. 

He was formerly married to Kathleen Murphy.

Surviving are his wife, the former Barbara Kyle, whom he married Oct. 22, 1983; daughter, Emily Fry; son, Matthew Fry, and brother, Robert Hutchinson.

Visitation will be from 1 p.m.-8 p.m. Thursday at Ansberg-West Funeral Home, where a prayer service will begin at 7 p.m.

The family suggests tributes to Toledo/Lucas County CareNet.

First Published June 23, 2022, 4:00 a.m.