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.
Surescripts
(Surescripts)
Tom Skelton will be retiring from his position as CEO of Surescripts at the end of 2022, the e-prescribing company announced this week.
Although he joined Surescripts back in 2014, Skelton has been an active participant in the healthcare technology space since 1994 when he joined Medic Computer Systems as vice president of research and development.
The time in between had him taking on executive roles across a handful of other companies including Misys Healthcare Systems, Confluence Medical Systems, MED400 and Foundation Radiology Group.
In the retirement announcement, Surescripts highlighted the launch of “some of its most innovative solutions” under Skelton’s leadership. Chief among these was the EHR-embedded Real-Time Prescription Benefit, which the company said now has more than 550,000 prescriber users.
Skelton will be supporting the board over the coming year as it seeks out a replacement and has committed to working with the chosen candidate over a period of transition to ensure a clean handoff.
Ochsner Health
(Ochsner Health)
Denise Basow, M.D., will become the first chief digital officer of Ochsner Health on Jan. 3, 2022, the system announced.
Formerly an internal medicine practitioner, Basow stepped into industry in 1996 when she joined healthcare technology startup UpToDate.
When the company was acquired by Wolters Kluwer in 2008, she made the jump to support the services firm’s point-of-care medical software efforts before launching and leading its Clinical Effectiveness business in 2015 as president and CEO.
She comes to Ochsner shortly after the system ramped up its digital and telehealth efforts 10,000% annually as a result of the pandemic. In the new role, she will be leading the strategy and growth of Ochsner’s digital health programs, building new digital businesses and working to expand its clinical businesses through the use of technology.
1upHealth
(LinkedIn)
Donald Rucker, M.D., is joining interoperability startup 1upHealth as its new chief strategy officer, the Boston-based company announced this week.
As the former national coordinator for health information and technology under the Trump administration, Rucker led the development and issuance of the 21st Century Cures Act final rule, which supports patient access and interoperability of health data.
A board-certified physician, he was a staunch advocate for expanding the use of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-based application programming interfaces across healthcare.
He’ll lean on these experiences to guide 1upHealth as it develops FHIR-enabled computing innovations. The new role will have Rucker spearheading the company’s work to help providers, payers and app developers modernize their systems to better aggregate and use health data.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
(Cincinnati Children's
Hospital Medical Center)
Evaline Alessandrini, M.D., is set to become the next chief operating officer of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Alessandrini is no stranger to the pediatric provider, having worked at Cincinnati Children’s for more than eight years earlier in her career. She had joined in 2009 to take on the director role for multiple programs before rising to assistant vice president of outcomes systems for the system’s center for excellence.
She’s currently serving as the chief medical officer, interim chief operations officer and executive vice president for UC Health, which she joined back in 2017. Her early career also included positions at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Alessandrini is expected to arrive at Cincinnati Children’s by January. She will be taking over for Steve Davis, M.D., who last month was chosen to move up the ladder and become the system’s CEO beginning Nov. 22.
> Dignity Health announced a series of leadership changes across its greater Sacramento, California, market resulting from the departure of Mercy General Hospital and Woodland Memorial Hospital President and CEO Edmundo Castañeda. Going forward, Brian Evans, M.D., will become president and CEO of Mercy General Hospital in addition to his current role at Mercy Hospital of Folsom; Gregory Eberhart, M.D., will serve as interim president and CEO at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital; and Gena Bravo will serve as interim president and CEO at Woodland Memorial Hospital in addition to her current roles at the facility. Parkland Health and Hospital System will be the new home of Dignity’s Castañeda, who has been appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer.
> University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has named Tami Minnier senior vice president of its health services division and chief quality and operational excellence officer for the system. In January, it will also see John Innocenti become senior vice president of the health services division and president of UPMC Mercy; and Sandy Rader become president of UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside, among other executive shake-ups.
> Texas Hospital Association has named John Hawkin as its next president and CEO, taking over for Ted Shaw.
> Wolters Kluwer Health has appointed Greg Samios as president and CEO of clinical effectiveness and Peter Bonis, M.D., as chief medical officer of the health division.
> Civitas Networks for Health has named Lisa Bari as CEO, effective immediately.
> Carrum Health will see Randy Hawkins, M.D., as its next chief medical officer.
> LifePoint Health has appointed John Whiteside as CEO of its SageWest Health Care as well as Charles Wang as chief of staff for the broader organization.
> Flume Health has brought on Andrew MacGill as vice president of product.
> The University of California, San Francisco has appointed CommonSpirit Health’s Joe D’Angina as the chief financial officer of three of its medical centers.
> InVibe Labs has named Beth Baldys as senior director of listening and linguistics.
> AdventHealth has appointed Mike Murrill president and CEO and Karen Steely chief operating officer of its Redmond Regional Medical Center.
> Cardinal Health has named Emily Gallo as vice president of customer marketing for U.S. medical products and distribution.
> Family First has named Sara MacDonald as vice president of clinical operations.
> Inova Fair Oaks Hospital has tapped Raj Chand to serve as president.