ACHE Members in the News

The Emergency Nurses Association, Schaumburg, Ill., welcomed Bradley Goettl, DNP, FACHE, as its first chief clinical officer.

Justin Turner has been named the chief operating officer for Rivers Health, Point Pleasant, W.Va., a member of Marshall Health Network.

Gregory A. Nielsen, FACHE, has been appointed the permanent CEO of East Jefferson General Hospital, Metairie, La., according to LCMC Health.

Hartford HealthCare announced the appointment of Gina L. Calder, FACHE, as the next president of the central region, which includes MidState Medical Center in Meriden and The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain.

Paul Kempinski, FACHE, president/CEO, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, said the partnership is “about providing excellent care to kids in their community.”

Grady Health System, Atlanta, announced that Anthony Saul, FACHE, has been promoted to senior executive vice president and COO/CFO.

Howard J. Gershon, LFACHE, has retired as of Jan. 1, 2024. He was the founding principal of New Heights Group, Santa Fe, N.M., and a former ACHE Regent for New Mexico.

Recovery Centers of America Capital Region, Waldorf, Md., named Fredericka Ford as CEO.

The University of Vermont Cancer Center and the UVM Health Network are pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin A. Vest, FACHE, network vice president, Cancer Clinical Programs.

Healthcare IT Leaders announced the hire of Steven Cardenas, FACHE, as senior vice president, Government Services.

Hong Potomski, FACHE, to market leader, Florida Blue, Pensacola, from senior director, Regional Business Development.

Daniel P. Ireland, FACHE, president/COO, Rochester (N.Y.) Regional Health Finger Lakes Rural Hospitals,, and Donna McGregor, FACHE, president, St. Lawrence Health, Rochester (N.Y.) Regional Health, both named by Becker’s Hospital Review as rural hospital and health system CEOs to know.

Valley View Medical Center, Ft. Mohave, Ariz., a Lifepoint Health hospital, announced that Blake Hubbard has been named its new CEO.

HSS Florida has appointed Heather Woolf, RN, as vice president and senior administrator for its teams and facilities in Palm Beach County.

UF Health Jacksonville (Fla.) has welcomed Kerin A. Da Cruz, RN, NE-BC, FACHE, as its new senior vice president/CNO.

E.J. Kuiper, DPT, has been selected as the next president and CEO of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System.

Barbara Martin, RN, FACHE, will be joining Ascension Illinois as the president of Ascension Saint Joseph–Joliet effective March 11.

Emily Mastaler named chief administrative officer, Stony Brook Southampton (N.Y.) Hospital.

Angel McCullough, DNP, RN, FACHE, has been named CNO, St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pa., and Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia.

Drew Tyrer, FACHE, named CEO of HCA Florida Westside Hospital.

Crystal Farmer, RN, FACHE, has assumed dual responsibilities of COO and CNO at Augusta Health.

Frankfort (Ky.) Regional Medical Center appointed John Ballard, PhD, FACHE, as CEO.

Don Mueller, FACHE, named president/CEO, Siskin Children's Institute.

Kofi A. Cash, DSc, FACHE, to executive director, Enterprise Hospital Operations, McLean Hospital, Mass General Brigham Health Care System, Belmont, Mass., from COO, Jewish Hospital, UofL Health, Louisville, Ky.

Intermountain Health announced that Lee Boyles, FACHE, has been named the president of Intermountain Health Montana/Wyoming Market and St. Vincent Regional Hospital.

Sutter Coast Hospital has announced the appointment of Michael Lane, FACHE, as COO.

The National Kidney Foundation, New York, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jerry J.K. Tillery, FACHE, as the senior vice president, field development and community impact.

Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, Ark., recently celebrated the investiture of Heather Cherry, DNP, RN, NE-BC, as the recipient and steward of the John Boyd Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing.

Anderson Healthcare, Maryville, Ill., a Metro East healthcare network, has announced the appointment of Mike Marshall, CPA, FACHE, as its new president and CEO.

Brazosport College’s Bachelor in Health Services Management program was recently awarded the American College of Healthcare Executives’ Higher Education Network Award, given to one graduate and one undergraduate program each year in healthcare administration/health services management from across the country.

David L. Schreiner, PhD, FACHE, president/CEO, Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, Dixon, Ill., writes that “Private equity ownership of rural hospitals is growing, but so are concerns about the effects private equity firms can have on quality of care in small, community hospitals.

AdventHealth welcomed Byron Dixon, MD, FACHE, to his new role as CMO, AdventHealth Hendersonville (N.C).

Rear Adm. Anne M. Swap, FACHE, is the recipient of the Gold Medal Award, and Ashley R. Vertuno, FACHE, is the recipient of the Robert S. Hudgens Memorial Award for Young Healthcare Executive of the Year.

Theresa Rutherford, RN, FACHE, president/CEO, HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital, has announced her plans to retire. Her last day will be April 1, 2024. Rutherford will retire with over 45 years of experience in healthcare.

Claudia Douglass, FACHE, has joined Grant Thornton as a principal and Healthcare industry growth leader. Douglass is a former COO and strategy leader.

Tom Hathaway has been promoted to president of Holy Cross Medical Group, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., a multi-specialty physician employed group.

A.J. Wilhelmi, president/CEO, Illinois Health & Hospital Association, writes that “[in] response to workforce challenges, hospitals are taking innovative approaches to attract and retain healthcare workers and alter this trajectory. This includes increased wages, signing and retention bonuses, new procedures to protect healthcare workers from violence and implementing new models of care.”

Richard Parker, FASHE, FACHE, writes that “Accreditation surveys can be stressful when you don’t know what to expect. You know a life safety surveyor will tour your surgical environment, but what are they looking for exactly? The life safety lens focuses on fire safety, electrical safety and other patient protective features specific to surgery. Understanding that perspective, OR leaders can be better prepared for this non-clinical portion of a survey and help their staff understand the kinds of questions that might arise.”

Wayne Coveyduck, LFACHE, president/CEO, Lennox and Addington County General Hospital, Napanee, Ont., will retire March 31.

Ty Kennon has joined North Oaks Health System as vice president of marketing and business development.

Ken Sturtz, FACHE, has been appointed as chief information and administrative officer, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC.

Ballad Health Medical Associates has named Meridith O’Keefe COO.

Corewell Health has appointed Drew Dostal, FACHE, as the new regional market leader serving Newaygo, Mason, Oceana, Osceola, Mecosta, Montcalm and Muskegon counties.

Jonathan Leer was named to lead the division of hematology at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Md.

Scott Wooten, FACHE, to CFO, Sanford Health, Sioux Falls, S.D., from executive vice president/CFO, Baptist Health, Jacksonville, Fla.

HCA Healthcare West Florida Division named Brent Burish, CEO, HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital.

“Arkansas Children's cares for and supports thousands of children every week. They are children who need us only briefly to treat an illness or injury. And they are children who rely on our extraordinary team to search for an elusive diagnosis, to explore options for treatment, to advocate for advances in medicine that might someday lead to their cures," said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and CEO, Arkansas Children's.

Mark Armstrong, FACHE, was named to lead Aprio LLP’s healthcare practice, where he will accelerate the development of the practice to become a substantial contributor to firm growth.

Richard Parker, FACHE, FASHE, writes that as technology and equipment advance, and new procedures are added, every surgery department may confront demolition, renovation or construction at some point.

David P. Bernard, FACHE, senior vice president, Houston Methodist, officially assumed the role of CEO, Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital.

Methodist Health System has named Cody Hunter, FACHE, as the first president of its newest hospital in Celina, Texas.

William J. Calhoun, FACHE, to CEO, St. Patrick Hospital, Missoula, Mont., from CEO, Kearny (Neb.) Regional Medical Center.

Joshua J. LaFleur to, vice president, Operations, Penn Highlands Clearfield (Pa.), from director, Clinical Operations, Ochsner Baptist, New Orleans.

Tonya L. Darner has been named the permanent CEO of UP Health System—Marquette, a Duke LifePoint hospital. Darner has served as the hospital’s interim CEO since early November and COO since 2021.

Edward T. Hubel, FACHE, to president, Baptist Medical Center Clay, Jacksonville, Fla., from interim president.

Nicole Jordan-Martin, FACHE, the executive director/CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Community Care, has been named one of the 25 recipients of the prestigious 2023 Empire Whole Health Heroes Awards.

Terika R. Richardson, FACHE, to senior executive vice president/COO, CommonSpirit Health, Chicago, from COO, Ardent Health Services, Nashville, Tenn.

“There seems to be a proliferation of AI across every industry,” says Shane Thielman, FACHE, corporate senior vice president/CIO, Scripps Health, which has launched several AI initiatives recently. “But healthcare is different. You need to have corridors for testing with safeguards in place. And things are moving so fast” that some health systems aren’t planning properly.

Stephen Demers, Vedner Guerrier, Joseph Stuczynski and Felicia Turnley, FACHE, have moved into new roles within the organization.

Henry Capote has been named CFO of HCA Florida Highlands Hospital, Sebring, Fla. Capote holds over 20 years of experience in healthcare finance.

Northern Westchester Hospital, led by Derek Anderson, FACHE, is the first hospital in the world to be awarded the prestigious Planetree Person-Centered Care Gold Certification with Distinction by Planetree International for the sixth consecutive time.

Kenneth Sturtz, FACHE, was appointed chief information and administrative officer, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC, Fort Meyers, Fla.

Paul G. VerValin, FACHE, FACMPE, was named president, Guthrie Corning (N.Y.) Hospital. VerValin has a total of 20 years with Guthrie.

Carolyn P. Caldwell, FACHE, president/CEO, Dignity Health-St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach, Calif., and an ACHE Governor, participated in a panel discussion on elevating the importance of belonging for all. “For those of you to know anything about healthcare: we like being together. And so COVID was very challenging. What we found out is that because we had to create a remote working environment, we were able to add flexibility - someone needs to take care of a family member but not have to take an entire week off—we were able to accommodate our employees.”

Airica Steed, EdD, RN, FACHE, said, “This new helipad is like MetroHealth itself: The best place to land in an emergency.”

Michael Labrador was named COO of Heart Hospital of Austin (Texas), from vice president of operations and ethics and compliance officer, HCA Florida Englewood Hospital.

David Whitmer, FACHE, vice president for federal operations at DSS, recently participated in the FORUM Keeping IT Brief podcast interview.

Christina Mathis has been named CEO for Medical City Frisco, a campus of Medical City Plano, Texas.

Marcy Doderer, FACHE, Arkansas Children’s president/CEO, said, “By creating this center, we are accelerating a healthier future for the children of Arkansas. The brilliant capacity of the team already on the ground and those we will recruit will create a better today and healthier tomorrow for the unbelievable number of children who suffer in the opioid crisis’ wake.”

Anna Michelle Brandt has joined University Hospital in Newark, N.J., as COO.

Christopher R. Bjornberg, FACHE, has been named as the new CEO of Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District, Brawley, Calif.

Gay Landstrom, PhD, RN, FACHE, CNO, Trinity Health, Livonia, Mich., said the redesign-care model that was piloted last year is now live at roughly 40 sites. “We realized that we needed to create teams,” she said. “This is a fundamental change to how we [deliver] patient care.”

Jorge Garcia, PharmD, FACHE, assistant vice president of system oncology and infusion pharmacy services, Baptist Health South Florida, spoke about his panel on ambulatory drug infusion that was featured at the recent Institute for Value-Based Medicine.

Wes Marsh, FACHE, to administrator, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida Health, Jacksonville, Fla., from operations manager, Department of Neurosurgery.

Christina Mathis, will take the reins as CEO beginning Nov. 13. She previously worked as COO for Medical City Plano.

Marco A. Lozano, FACHE, to COO, Laredo (Texas) Medical Center, from assistant CEO.

Kyle D. Campbell, FACHE, to COO for Enterprise Clinic Operations, WellMed Medical Management Inc., San Antonio, from senior vice president for Enterprise Clinic Integrations.

Josh Wymer, FACHE, RN-BC, NEA-BC, was among the more than 180,000 who joined active duty in the year after the attacks. He dropped out of nursing school and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. The terrorist attacks had served as a catalyst that launched his military career and solidified his commitment to service.

Thomas McKinney, FACHE, to CEO, Baptist Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, from market president, Christus Santa Rosa Hospital, in San Marcos, Texas.

Carla LaFever to president, Aurora Medical Center-Grafton (Wis.), from vice president, Operations.

Rose Dunn, FACHE, FHFMA, RHIA, past president of AHIMA, writes about the electronic health information export requirement that goes into effect Dec. 31.

Craig Cordola, FACHE, to management board member for the globally operating care delivery segment, Fresenius Medical Care, Waltham, Mass., from executive vice president, Ascension Capital, St. Louis.

Edison Bond Jr., to chief patient experience officer, St. John's Episcopal Hospital, Far Rockaway, N.Y., from director of patient relations, Baystate Health, Springfield, Mass. Bond has been a member of ACHE since 1994.

Elizabeth J. Mahon, FACHE, to healthcare advisor, Kassouf, from program director, Kindred Healthcare.

Abha Agrawal, MD FACEP, FACHE, to president/CEO, Lawrence (Mass.) General Hospital, from CMO, Humboldt Park Health, Chicago.

David Sides, FACHE, president/CEO, NextGen Healthcare, in this podcast gives an overview of how AI is being used in healthcare.