Awards

Honorary Degree - 1989

L.H.D.

Doctor of Humane Letters

Medical Res. & Library Dedication

Indianapolis, Indiana

Presenter: Thomas Ehrlich

About Omer Hiram Foust

Omer Hiram Foust graduated from Wabash College in 1942. He served his beloved alma mater as assistant to the president, alumni director, and public relations director at the college from 1958-1968. He was also a public and financial relations manager for Inland Container Corporation from 1968-1972. However, Foust is most known for his career with the James Whitcomb Riley Memorial Association. From 1972-1996, Foust was fundamental to the association’s growth and success. His dedication and drive propelled the association through multiple building phases and the launching of innovative medical facilities unheard of at the time.

In his role serving as Executive Secretary of the association, Foust traveled thousands of miles to spread the association’s fame in 22 Indiana counties where the association had little, if any, representation. Foust’s fast pace laid the groundwork for the next three decades of the association’s growth and prosperity. During his tenure as Executive Director for twenty years, five years of meticulous planning culminated in the first major addition to the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, dedicated and opened in 1971. The new 5-story 182,000 sq. feet addition offered the most modern medical facilities and innovative patient care ideas, including the Baxter Care Pavilion pioneered by Dr. Morris Green. The unit served as an early national model for family-centered care for other children’s hospitals wanting to start up similar programs. Foust also served as the director of the association’s History Project, which produced the book, "Keeping the Dream: Commemorating 75 Years of Caring for Indiana’s Children—James Whitcomb Riley Memorial Association." Riley Hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1974. Foust played a key role in crafting the Riley story through print and electronic media, and the celebration included a news media open house at the hospital, a 500 Festival Float, several major conferences, and a Riley Hospital feature at the Indiana State Fair. In 1980, under Foust’s leadership, the association provided $900,000 to construct and equip a new cardiac catheterization laboratory, making open-heart and closed-heart surgeries a Riley Hospital hallmark. The new Riley Hospital inpatient building opened in 1986 and included a model Infant Intensive Care Unit (the Nurture Center), expanded inpatient and intensive care units, 14 operating rooms and state-of-the-art imaging facilities.

Those who knew Foust described him as someone who knew everyone. He was famous for his personal touch and getting lunch with people to talk and develop ideas or next steps. Throughout his life, Foust received numerous honors and awards. Foust was recognized with the Alumni Award of Merit from Wabash College, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wabash College in 1988, awarded to individuals distinguishing themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. Foust was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from Indiana University in 1989. At the time, Dr. Morris Green, Chairman of Indiana University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics from 1967-1987, recognized him for playing “a key role in the development of innovative programs at the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, for working closely with the School of Medicine to implement plans for the future, and for making the public-private partnership of the university and the Riley Memorial Association a national model.”