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.
Centene
As reported earlier this week, Centene has appointed Susan Smith as its new chief operating officer. She will be tasked with leading core business operations, population health work, provider experience, the enterprise transformation office and quality.
"Susan is a seasoned operator who brings extensive experience in the government-sponsored payer space," said Centene CEO Sarah London in the release. "Her operational expertise in quality and customer experience, proven track record and leadership during transformational times—coupled with her steadfast commitment to the members and communities we support—make her the right candidate for this role."
Smith has worked at Centene since June as senior vice president but has spent the bulk of her career with Humana throughout the company’s Medicare and Medicaid departments. Most recently, she was the senior vice president of clinical, quality and enterprise solutions for Humana.
University of Chicago Medicine
Sarosh Rana, M.D., has been appointed as the University of Chicago Medicine health system’s first chief obstetrical transformation officer. She began the role Nov. 1.
In the new position, she will work with the nonprofit South Side Healthy Community Organization to improve health outcomes on the south side of the city. She will also collaborate closely with safety net hospitals to improve access to obstetrical care and patient support services. Her previous efforts as SSHCO’s maternal child health physician leader helped launch the first maternal-fetal medicine/federally qualified health center model to help women with high-risk pregnancies.
Rana, winner of the Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity last month, completed a fellowship at Brown University’s medical school.
Path Mental Health
Behavioral health company Path Mental Health has named several new hires to its executive leadership team.
The company announced Jay Meyers as chief commercial officer, David Katcher as chief operating officer and Tracey Scraba as the organization’s first general counsel.
Meyers formerly worked at Quartet Health and spent time serving in Elevance Health’s diversified business group as the company’s first chief growth officer. He will oversee payer partnership growth to expand the number of covered patients Path serves, according to a press release.
Katcher served as head of global operations at Lyft and most recently worked as COO for hospitality platform AvantStay. Scraba, formerly chief privacy officer at CVS Health, has 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, recently serving as deputy general counsel at Signify Health.
> Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has appointed Richard Lehmuth as senior vice president and chief strategy officer, effective Jan. 8.
> Weill Cornell Medicine, a prestigious graduate school in New York, has named Cathy Garzio as executive vice provost and chief operating officer, effective in February.
> Duly Health and Care, an independent, multispecialty, physician-directed medical group that includes DuPage Medical Group and the South Bend Clinic, has appointed Ryan West as president of Chicagoland operations, Dana Rye as chief value-based care officer and Charleen Philips as chief accounting officer.
> PointClickCare, a healthcare technology platform used by payers and providers, has named James Yersh as chief revenue officer. Travis Palmquist will transition into the role of senior vice president and general manager of emerging markets for the organization.
> VCU Health, an academic medical center, has hired back Jeffrey Kim, M.D., as the health system’s chief medical information officer, effective Dec. 24.
> Providence Swedish, a hospital network in Washington, has announced Elizabeth Wako, M.D., as permanent president and CEO of Swedish Health Services.
> The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has selected Mark Tamburri as executive vice president and chief legal officer, succeeding Tom McGough, who will retire at the end of the year.
> ThedaCare, a health system throughout Wisconsin, has named Kori Krueger, M.D., as the organization’s newest senior vice president and president of the ThedaCare Physician Group.
> HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital has tapped Samuel Boadi to join the hospital as chief operating officer.
> Elation Health, a technology platform for primary care, has selected Tom Natt as chief growth officer and Seth Cedars as general counsel.
> Houston Methodist, consisting of a national academic medical center, six community hospitals and a long-term acute care hospital, has transitioned Shawn Tittle from chief medical officer and chief quality officer at Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital to senior vice president and system chief quality officer.
> Wondr Health, a digital behavioral change program treating the root causes of obesity and chronic disease, has hired Greg Tracy as chief technology officer.
> Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing in Manhattan has appointed Kimberly Glassman, Ph.D., as dean and vice president for nursing academic affairs of the Mount Sinai Health System effective Dec. 29.
> Rush University System for Health in Chicago has selected Matt Walsh as executive vice president and chief operating officer effective January 2024.
> Canopy Health, a joint venture originally founded by John Muir Health and UCSF Health, has announced the planned retirement of Mike Robinson as CEO. He will be replaced by Ken Wood immediately.
> Nava, a benefits brokerage designed to make benefits easy for growing employers, has appointed Marshall Feigenbaum to its partner team.
> Livara, a value-based musculoskeletal management solution for providers and payers, has named Rob Cohen as its newly appointed CEO.
> Cincinnati Children’s has hired Peter Adebi as senior vice president of human resources and chief human resources and diversity officer, effective Jan 15.
> Availity, a real-time health information network, has tapped Sean Keneally as the company’s newest COO.
> Two Chairs, a behavioral health care company, has selected Justin Wu as chief operations officer and Padma Lalwani as vice president of engineering.
> Equality Health, a primary care platform leveraging value-based payment models, has appointed Lawrence Green as Tennessee market president.