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.
Teladoc Health
Mike Waters, formerly the EVP and chief executive of ambulatory care network for Providence, has joined Teladoc Health as its new chief operating officer, the telehealth company announced earlier this week.
Waters had been with the Catholic health system for about 15 years, most recently tasked with heading the overall strategy and execution of his network as well as for building health solutions for patients used outside of the hospital.
He preceded that by leading W Medical Group and Med Stat Incorporated, both national health system consulting and recruiting firms.
The new role will give Waters responsibility over Teladoc’s overall operations, particularly in regard to member services and relations, supply chain and its provider network. He began the role on July 25 and reports to CEO Jason Gorevic.
Aledade
Phuong Phillips was named as chief legal officer of Aledade, a well-funded startup using data analytics to help independent doctors’ offices transition to value-based care models, according to a Sunday announcement.
Phillips joins with nearly two decades of experience within the technology, clean tech and entertainment industries. She most recently served as chief legal officer for mobile and social media gaming company Zynga overseeing legal affairs and government relations.
Prior to that, Phillips held positions as associate general counsel for Tesla; VP, deputy general counsel and head of corporate and securities at SolarCity; and initially as an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Phillips, who also serves as a board member for a trio of organizations supporting underprivileged communities, will now be placed at the head of Aledade’s legal strategy while supporting the company’s growth.
Alongside Phillips’ appointment, Aledade shared a pair of promotions within the company. Former Chief of Staff to the CEO Doug Streat was named chief operating officer at Aledade’s health services subsidiary, Aledade Care Solutions, while Christine Dang-Vu took up his previous role.
Humana
Alan Wheatly will be stepping down from his role as Humana’s retail segment president amidst a reorganization unveiled during the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call.
Wheatley is set to vacate his role at the end of the year following more than three decades with the large payer. His role gave him oversight of Individual Medicare Advantage, Group Medicare, Medicare Supplement, stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans, Individual Medicaid and Long-term Support Services segments of the business.
Before that, Wheatley was president of senior products, VP and chief financial officer of senior products, VP of Medicare service operations and president of the east region. He initially came up through the company’s finance wing and led its internal consulting division.
Wheatley will be staying on in an advisory role until early 2023 to ensure a smooth transition for new leadership.
UnityPoint Health
Patricia Newland is next in line to become president and CEO of UnityPoint Clinic, UnityPoint Health’s integrated network of physicians, advanced practitioners and clinics, the organization announced Thursday.
Following a residency at the Iowa Lutheran Family Medicine Residency and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Newland came to UnityPoint Clinic back in 2000 as a practicing family physician.
The years since have seen her take on roles as VP and medical director of the central Iowa UnityPoint Health region, interim president and CEO of UnityPoint Clinic and, most recently, medical director of primary care for the clinic network. That final role had her focused on clinical excellence and best practices for the system’s primary care.
Beginning Aug. 14, Newland will be working to improve and standardize quality performance, according to the announcement. She’ll also focus on identifying strategic opportunities across the clinical enterprise.
> U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Director of the Office for Civil Rights Lisa Pino is leaving the agency. Melanie Fontes Rainer will be serving as acting director.
> Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare named Kate Dowd as SVP and chief legal officer.
> CVS Health brought on Taft Parsons, M.D., as VP and chief psychiatric officer.
> Zing Health, a Medicare Advantage insurance company, named Andrew Clifton as president.
> Morehouse School of Medicine picked up health equity researcher Rick Kittles as its new SVP of research.
> Geisinger, based in Pennsylvania, named Susan Parisi, M.D., as its first chief wellness officer.
> iRhythm Technologies, a digital health company focused on cardiology, announced Brice Bobzien will join on Aug. 8 as chief financial officer. Reyna Fernandez has already stepped in as EVP and chief human resources officer.
> Premier Health, in Ohio, reportedly tapped Lisa Gossett as VP, chief nursing officer and chief experience officer.
> The Center for Breakthrough Medicines added Mandy Conver as SVP of business development for testing and analytics, as well as Jennifer Manning as SVP of global strategic partnerships.
> Aneltos, a remote patient monitoring company, announced Tina Null as chief clinical officer.
> POCN, a network of nurse practitioners and physician’s associates, tapped Bill Braswell as business unit president.
> Renown Health, in Nevada, tapped Adnan Akbar, M.D., as chief medical officer for its Renown Acute Care.
> Applied Policy, a health policy and reimbursement consulting firm, appointed Steven Johnson as health policy director.
> Core Education added Geoffrey Roche as SVP of its national healthcare practice.
> Commonwealth Health’s Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, in Pennsylvania, will see Simon Ratliff begin as CEO on Sept. 1.
> BeMe, a mental health app for teens, brought on Christine Ellis Purcell as chief business officer.
> Business Group on Health named Steve Braun, Diana Han, M.D., and David Stark, M.D., to its board. Additionally, Jim Winkler was brought on as chief strategy officer.
> Centivo named Jim Foreman as the chairman of its board.