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.
Steven Landers, M.D., was named as the inaugural CEO of the NAHC-NHPCO Alliance, the June merger of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
A board-certified family medicine, geriatric medicine and hospice and palliative medicine physician, Landers focused his early clinical practice on house calls and home visits for low-mobility patients.
His leadership résumé includes roles as director of home care at the Cleveland Clinic and more than 11 years as president and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group. He most recently held the titles of president and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife.
Landers has also served on several boards and committees focused on home care and over the years has spoken with policymakers from Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services to advocate for home health issues.
Michele Saysana, M.D., has been tapped by Indiana University Health and Indiana University School of Medicine to serve as the next president of IU Health Physicians.
A pediatrics professor and alumna, Saysana has been a member of the IU School of Medicine faculty since 2006 and has held several roles within its affiliated health system.
She was named vice president and inaugural chief quality and safety officer at IU Health in 2017 and since November 2022 has served as chief medical officer at its adult academic health center.
She’ll enter the role—which has the formal titles of senior vice president of academic medicine and executive associate dean for clinical affairs—Oct. 1, which is currently being held on an interim basis by Kevin Gebke, M.D., senior vice president of community medicine.
Lisa Gallagher was appointed as the national advisor for cybersecurity for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).
Gallagher is a 35-year industry veteran. She spent the last few years as a cybersecurity and information security consultant but prior to that served as managing director of PwC’s cybersecurity practice.
She was also previously a co-chair of the Department of Health and Human Services' Health IT Standards Committee and held leadership roles at the Health Information and Management Systems Society for nearly a decade.
- The Department of Health and Human Services’ Alison Barkoff, assistant secretary for aging and the administrator of its Administration for Community Living, will be leaving the department in early October.
- Cigna has promoted Andrea Nelson to chief legal officer.
- Orlando Health Chief Financial Officer Leslie Flake has reportedly departed from the role. Bernadette Spong, who previously served in the position, will be holding down the fort until a permanent replacement is found.
- University of New Mexico Health Sciences has appointed Mike Richards, M.D., as interim executive vice president as well as the CEO of its UNM Health System.
- Trinity Health, based in North Dakota, unveiled Jason Hotchkiss as chief financial officer.
- Care New England Health System announced Lisa Rameaka, M.D., as chief medical officer at its Women & Infants Hospital.
- SSM Health named Kerri Bayer as regional chief nursing officer serving the Oklahoma and mid-Missouri region.
- Adventist HealthCare and Howard University announced Roger Mitchell Jr., M.D., as the inbound president of Howard University Hospital.
- Altais, a value-based care technology and services vendor targeting independent physicians, picked up Walmart Health & Wellness vet Kumar Murukurthy, M.D., as its new chief information and digital officer. The appointment went into effect last month.
- UPMC expanded Andy Rush’s role as president of UPMC Somerset hospital, now giving him the same title at its UPMC KcKeesport and UPMC East medical centers.
- Newport Hospital & Health Services announced Chief Financial Officer Kim Manus as its interim CEO.
- HCA Healthcare unveiled David Irizarry as CEO of its Corpus Christi Medical Center beginning Sept. 1.
- Chestnut Health Systems named Tony Coletta chief administrative officer, effective Oct. 7.
- RWJBarnabas Health’s Monmouth Medical Center is welcoming Ann Szapor as its new chief nursing officer.
- Buchanan County Health Center brought on Tony Fontmann as chief financial officer.
- Gifford Health Care is bringing on Michael Costa as its next president and CEO effective Oct. 14.
- Manatee Memorial Hospital named Andy Guz CEO effective Sept. 15.