Executive News

ACHE Member Update

Interim Regent Appointed 
Lexie Schwartz, FACHE, vice president, Operations, OSF Healthcare, Bloomington, Ill., has been appointed Interim Regent for Illinois—Central & Southern.

Dent, McGaw Student Scholarships Awarded for 2022
ACHE recently presented its Albert W. Dent and Foster G. McGaw student scholarships to 15 outstanding graduate students preparing for careers in healthcare management. 

The following students each received a grant in tribute to the late Albert W. Dent, the first Black healthcare executive to achieve ACHE Fellow status: 

Simone Bacon, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alexa Bragg, Boston University.

Grace A. Goschen, University of Colorado Denver.

Ricardo Iglesias III, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Mich. 

Alberto Ornelas, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. 

SSgt Kendall J. Ranges Jr., IUPUI (Indiana University and Purdue University), Indianapolis.

Dana Varughese, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, Minneapolis. 

Jazmine Walker, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Dent scholarship is bestowed annually to outstanding racially and/or ethnically diverse and LGBTQ students who are enrolled in graduate programs in health services administration.

In addition, ACHE awarded the Foster G. McGaw Student Scholarship to the following individuals: 

Allison Castiblanco, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. 

Jared M. Dawson, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va. 

Abby Edwards, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C. 

Trey McCoy, University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa. 

Ashley Paschl, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. 

Meryum Waqif, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas.

Nina Ziemba, University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

The late Foster G. McGaw, founder of the American Hospital Supply Corporation, contributed funds for this award, which is given annually to outstanding students enrolled in graduate programs in health services administration. 

Applications for the 2023 Dent and McGaw graduate student scholarships will be accepted between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2023. The number of awards varies from year to year. For more information, visit ache.org/Students and click the “Scholarships and Awards” link in the “Become a Student Associate” section.

People

ACHE Members Elected to the AHA Board
The following ACHE members have been elected to a three-year term on the American Hospital Association’s board of trustees beginning Jan. 1, 2023: 

Victoria W. Bayless, CEO, Luminis Health, Annapolis, Md.

Mary Ann Fuchs, DNP, RN, vice president, patient care/system chief nurse executive, Duke University Health System, Durham, N.C., and associate dean, clinical affairs, Duke University School of Nursing, Durham, N.C.

Lori J. Morgan, MD, president/CEO, Huntington Health, Pasadena, Calif. 

Stephen A. Purves, FACHE, president/CEO, Valleywise Health, Phoenix.

Terika R. Richardson, FACHE, COO, Ardent Health Services, Nashville, Tenn. 

In addition, Russ Gronewald, president/CEO, Bryan Health, Lincoln, Neb., was reappointed to a full term as a member of the board and chair of Regional Policy Board 6. He was elected last year to fill a vacancy on the board for one year, effective Jan. 1, 2021. 

ACHE Members Chosen as AHA Next Generation Fellows
Twelve ACHE Members are among the 41 emerging hospital and health system leaders who will participate in the 2022–2023 class of the AHA’s Next Generation Leaders Fellowship. Participants will hone essential skills such as expanding on innovation capacity, driving organizational change and digital transformation, and leading the shift from healthcare to well care. The 12 ACHE Members are: 

Ashley E. Abbondandolo, director, Business Development & Physician Relations, Memorial Healthcare System, Hollywood, Fla.

William Bryant III, DNP, RN, NE-BC, vice president, Perioperative Services, ChristianaCare, Wilmington, Del.

Chris Keeley, COO, Ambulatory Care, NYC Health + Hospitals, New York.

Lyndsy McIntyre, RN, vice president, Patient Care Services/CNO, Springfield (Vt.) Hospital. 

Tiffany N. Morales, senior project manager, Stanford Health Care, Palo Alto, Calif. 

Kimberly L. Pfeifer, director, Quality Optimization and Regulatory Reporting, Henry Ford Health, Detroit.

Jonathan Rosenthal, market director, Clinical Operations, Ascension Illinois, Chicago.

Wade T. Swenson, MD, medical director, Lake Region Healthcare, Fergus Falls, Minn. 

Ryan Thompson, COO, Rome (N.Y.) Health.

Donna M. Wellington, RN, vice president, System Primary Health/COO, Behavioral Health Services, Henry Ford Health, Detroit.

Nathan E. Ziegler, PhD, system vice president, Diversity, Leadership and Performance Excellence, CommonSpirit Health, Chicago.

Andrew O. Zwers, president, PIH Health, Whittier, Calif. 

Leaders in Action

To promote the many benefits of ACHE membership, the following ACHE leader spoke recently at the following in-person events:

Anthony A. Armada, FACHE
Chair
California Association of Healthcare Leaders
Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony
Walnut Creek, Calif. 
(August 2022) 

Kansas Association of Healthcare Executives/Kansas Hospital Association
Fall Educational Event
Overland Park, Kan.
(September 2022)

ACHE Staff News

ACHE Announces New Hires, Title Changes, Promotions and a Retirement 
Following are new hire, title change, promotion and retirement announcements. 

Emily R. Alford welcomed as digital marketing specialist, Department of Communications and Marketing. 

Leslie A. Athey retired as vice president, Strategy & Research, Executive Office. Leslie joined ACHE in 2011 as director, Research, Executive Office, and in 2021, she was promoted to her current position. During her tenure with ACHE, her contributions to the organization have covered a wide span of studies for the field, as well as member surveys and market research. Most recently, Leslie played a central role in creating ACHE’s new Strategic Plan. Members will enjoy her imprint for years to come. We thank Leslie for her many years of service to the healthcare field.

Sheila T. Brown’s title was changed to chapter relations specialist, Chapter Relations, Department of Executive Engagement, from chapter specialist, Regional Services. 

Jennifer L. Connelly, FACHE, CAE’s title was changed to vice president, Volunteer Relations, Executive Office, from vice president, Regional Services, Department of Executive Engagement. 

Sonia S. Hernandez promoted to governance coordinator, Executive Office, from senior secretary. 

Stacey A. Kidd promoted to director, Chapter Relations, Department of Executive Engagement, from regional director, Regional Services.
  
Lisa M. Lagger welcomed as senior vice president, Department of Communications and Marketing.

Gregg A. Lapin welcomed as director, Event Experience, Professional Development, Department of Learning. 

Nate R. Muckley’s title was changed to volunteer relations assistant, Volunteer Relations, Executive Office, from district services assistant, Regional Services, Department of Executive Engagement.

Emma O’Riley promoted to vice president, Operations, Department of Communications and Marketing, from director, Product Marketing. 

Lea E. Radick’s title was changed to publications editor, Department of Communications and Marketing, from writer. 

Kim A. Rock promoted to governance specialist, Executive Office, from executive assistant to the president/CEO.

Rachel R. Rubinson welcomed as email marketing specialist, Department of Communications and Marketing. 

Phillip T. Shaffer was named chapter relations manager, Chapter Relations, Department of Executive Engagement, from regional director, Regional Services. 

Sylvia Vargas welcomed as meeting planner, Professional Development, Department of Learning.

Research Fellows Announced 
Tianxing “Norman” Guo and Ziyi Li have been selected as Research Fellows within Strategy & Research, Executive Office. Guo graduated in August 2022 with a master’s degree in public policy as well as data analysis and health policy certificates from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Additionally, he has an MBA from Bowling Green (Ohio) State University, and a bachelor’s degree in international tourism management from Macau (China) University of Science and Technology. 

His most recent experience includes co-leading a customer relationship management system upgrade as a strategy analyst intern with Digital Factory, Chicago.

Li graduated with honors in June 2021 with a master’s degree in public policy and a data analysis certificate from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Additionally, she has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Boston University and recent experience as a data analyst with the American Hospital Association, Chicago, where she conducted projects such as using machine learning techniques to predict patient clinical outcomes from Medicare claims and U.S. Census data. 

During their fellowships with ACHE, Guo and Li will assist with analyzing and presenting member and survey response data and developing and tracking metrics.