Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please submit the good news—or the bad—from your shop, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
Banner Health
Days after announcing CEO Peter Fine would retire in June, nonprofit health system Banner Health named Michael Reagin as executive vice president and chief technology officer in a newly created role.
He will lead IT, data strategy and digital transformation for the organization, a news release said. Reagin previously served as the chief information and innovation officer for Sharp Healthcare and Sentara Healthcare. He worked in similar roles for Cleveland Clinic and Providence Health & Services.
“Mike is a very important addition to our senior leadership team,” said Amy Perry, president of Banner Health, in a statement. “His insights and experience will be crucial to lead our tech infrastructure, data analytics and digital experience transformation plan.”
Sutter Health
Sutter Health has selected Lindsay Mazotti, M.D., as its first chief medical officer. She will serve as the senior academic physician executive for growing medical education and research, according to a news release.
Mazotti was previously assistant physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente East Bay for eight years. She has also been a professor of clinical medicine for the University of California, San Francisco and director of clinical education for the Kaiser Permanente school of medicine.
“We have invested in accredited programs and are projected to train more than 18,000 residents over the next 20 years. We also have an annual research budget of more than $50 million,” said Conrad Vial, M.D., president of Sutter Health Network, in a statement. “By combining clinical career pathways with world-class research and community-based medicine, we are improving patient access to care, our patients’ whole health and equitable care delivery. Dr. Mazotti embracing this new physician leadership role is one more key element that further ignites the positive momentum at Sutter Health.”
L.A. Care Health Plan
In more California-centric news, John Baackes, CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan, is retiring at the end of the year after leading the organization for nine years. A search has begun to find his successor.
He is credited with helping expand the health plan’s physician network, growing the number of community resource centers, advancing health equity and creating a school loan repayment program, according to a news release.
Baackes served as CEO of Senior Whole Health from 2005 to 2012 and president of VIP plans for AmeriHealth Caritas from 2012 to 2015.
> NRC Health, a provider of healthcare solutions and data-driven insights, has announced Chris DuFresne as vice president of customer strategy.
> Medica, a nonprofit health plan in Minnesota, has appointed Krista Dusil as CFO.
> The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has tapped former Sidecar Health exec Monica Auciello as senior vice president and chief legal officer.
> America’s Essential Hospitals, an association representing more than 300 members, has poached MACPAC principal analyst and former CMS health insurance specialist Robert Nelb as policy director.
> The Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine has named John Dalrymple, M.D., as dean and CEO, starting in July 2024.
> Envision Healthcare, a medical group delivering physician and practice provider services, has announced Jason Owen as president and CEO.
> A Place for Mom, a senior care advisory platform, has promoted Tatyana Zlotsky as CEO and to join the board of directors.
> WeightWatchers, a weight management company, has hired Donna Boyer as chief product officer, Jacquie Cooke as general counsel and secretary and Debra Benovitz as chief insights officer.
> Yosi Health, a patient management solutions provider, has appointed Alexandra Charnas as senior product manager.
> GE Healthcare informed investors that CEO Jan Makela will resign to become CEO of another company not considered a rival, according to a Securites and Exchange Commission filing.
> Phoenix Children’s, a pediatric health system, has named Blake Bulloch, M.D., as chief medical officer; Kelly Kelleher, M.D., and Liz Zorn, M.D., as associate chief medical officers; and Ashish Patel, M.D., as physician-in-chief.