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.
Cedars-Sinai
Christine Albert, M.D., was named founding chairwoman of the newly established department of cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. The department aligns with the new department of cardiac surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute that will be led by Joanna Chikwe, who also joins Cedars-Sinai this fall from the Mount Sinai Health System in New York.
(Cedars-Sinai)
Albert will have responsibility for leading the strategic direction of clinical, operational, academic and research programs of the cardiology department.
She joins Cedars-Sinai from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, where she directs the Center for Arrhythmia Prevention, and is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
(Memorial Hermann)
Memorial Hermann Health System
Alexander Greengold will become senior vice president and chief consumer experience officer at Memorial Hermann Health System.
In the newly created role for the system, Greengold will be charged with leading the health system's efforts to further personalize care to consistently deliver "exceptional experiences for patients, their families and its caregivers."
Greengold most recently served as VP of customer experience, support and strategy for Dish Network. He earned his undergraduate degree in business and political science from Florida State University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of South Florida.
(OSU)
Ohio State University
William Farrar, M.D., is expected to become CEO of the Ohio State University Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.
The decision is pending approval by the university's board of trustees. In the role, he will report to Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at Ohio State and CEO of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Farrar is a surgical oncologist and has served on the James medical staff since it opened in July 1990. He holds the Dr. Arthur G. and Mildred C. James – Richard J. Solove Chair in Surgical Oncology, is the director of the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center and is a member of the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Research Program in The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.
He also directed the division of surgical oncology for 28 years and was the director of medical affairs at The James for 22 years. Farrar also serves as president of the U.S. National Committee for International Union Against Cancer. He’s also principal investigator for the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project clinical trial group at Ohio State.
(Navicent)
Navicent Health
Patrice Walker, M.D., was promoted to the role of chief medical officer for the Georgia-based Medical Center Navicent Health (MCNH).
Walker has served MCNH as deputy chief medical officer since November 2018. She earned her medical degree from the Mercer University School of Medicine and completed her residency training at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, now known as Medical Center Navicent Health. She is a board-certified OB-GYN and has been an active member of the medical staff, where she has served on numerous committees and was the medical director of the OB-GYN staff for the 2016-2018 term.
MetaStar
Jesi Wang will become CEO of MetaStar, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit firm that provides consulting on healthcare quality.
Wang will take the gig following the retirement of Greg Simmons in January 2020 after serving for 33 years as CEO. Wang currently serves as MetaStar's senior vice president of operations and client services and has been with MetaStar for 16 years. She also serves as CEO of Superior Health Quality Alliance, a partnership of eight organizations in which MetaStar is a member.
> The board of Sheridan Community Hospital in Sheridan, Michigan, fired CEO Randy Flechsig. HIPAA Compliance Officer Bobbi McColley was named interim CEO, WOOD TV8 reported.
> Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, named Heather Havericak, R.N., as its new CEO, the South Florida Business Journal reports.
> Mark Frey, the CEO of Amita Health—which is the largest Catholic health system in Illinois—announced he would step down from the role, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Karen Springer, executive vice president of performance optimization and nursing operations for Ascension, and Eddie Soler, executive vice president of finance for AdventHealth, will fill in as interim co-CEOs, a spokeswoman told the news outlet.