Dr. William "B.J." Hicks has been named the American Heart Association's Physician of the Year, recognizing a longstanding commitment to the highest ideals of patient care and exemplary leadership in the association's mission.
For his leadership in stroke care, including the three-plus-year effort to establish the first mobile stroke unit in Central Ohio, Hicks has been named the American Heart Association's 2025 Physician of the Year. The award will be presented June 17 at the association's National Volunteer Awards ceremony in Plano, Texas.
American Heart Association President Dr. Keith Churchwell said Hicks is a prime example of an AHA volunteer physician.
"He's a spectacular neurologist," Churchwell said. Besides caring for his patients, Hicks "works across multiple communities to reduce the risk of stroke through education and personal involvement, implementing innovative ideas on risk reduction."
In 2019, OhioHealth launched the first Central Ohio mobile stroke unit in partnership with the Columbus Division of Fire and two other local health systems with comprehensive stroke centers, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Mount Carmel Health System. A second unit was introduced last year.
A CT imaging specialist, an advanced practice provider and two paramedics trained in stroke staff the units. Onboard equipment includes a CT scanner, lab testing equipment and a telemedicine connection for consulting with a stroke neurologist.
If the neurologist sees that the most common type of stroke, caused by a blood vessel obstruction, has occurred, the ambulance crew can immediately begin giving intravenous clot-dissolving medicine on the way to a stroke center. The unit even has a gurney with a built-in scale, to ensure precision dosing.
By delivering crucial medicine to patients faster, such units are saving lives and patients' future functionality. A 2022 analysis comparing mobile stroke units with usual care suggested that mobile units could reduce the time from stroke onset to receipt of clot-busting medication by a half-hour and substantially increase the odds of an excellent patient outcome after 90 days.
"Magic happens," Hicks said, "because we get there so quickly."
Hicks, 45, is immersed in cardiovascular care and advocacy. He's been a member of the American Stroke Association Advisory Committee for three years and currently chairs its acute treatment subcommittee. He is immediate past president and current member of the 2024-25 AHA Midwest Region board of directors.
Previously he served on the Central Ohio AHA board of directors, including as its president. And in 2023, Hicks was named an American Stroke Association Stroke Equity Hero for his efforts to advance equitable health for all.
Hicks also helps improve the future of care through stroke research. Right now he's a local principal investigator for a trial called FASTEST, testing whether prompt administration of a novel medicine called Factor VII can cause beneficial clotting in patients having a bleeding stroke within the brain.
Hicks also is active with the Franklin County Hypertension Network, which he helped create in 2018 to make blood pressure care a priority in health care settings throughout the area. Target:BP, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the American Medical Association, supports the effort.
Serving the community is woven into Hicks' DNA. His grandfather was a prominent pastor deeply connected in the Columbus area's Black community. His father, an oncologist, maintained those ties, working to counteract health disparities in the cancer realm.
"What he instilled in me was being unapologetic about excellence and having a drive toward achieving the goals that you set out, if you center the patient and you center the community," Hicks said. His mother, meanwhile, kept Hicks and his two siblings — now a dermatologist and a business executive — on track for well-rounded lives.
Today, Hicks counts on the support of his wife of 13 years, Nicci, an attorney who owns a local boutique. The couple have two children, 11-year-old Ella and 8-year-old William.
Hicks also credits a string of powerful mentors for guiding his career ambitions.
As an undergraduate at Morehouse College in Atlanta — which challenges its students to "strive to be tall enough to wear our crown of high expectations" — pre-med adviser Thomas Blocker evangelized about how to grow into that crown. "His words still carry me through," Hicks said.
To read the full article visit heart.org
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Alumni Achievement