Massachusetts General Hospital President Peter Slavin, M.D. to Chair
Massachusetts Hospital Association Board of Trustees

Hospital Leaders from Leominster, Melrose and Plymouth also Named to Senior Posts

Peter Slavin, M.D., president of Massachusetts General Hospital, has been named the 72nd Chair of the Massachusetts Hospital Association Board of Trustees at MHA's Annual Meeting in Brewster on June 7th. He succeeds Normand E. Deschene, FACHE, president & CEO of Lowell General Hospital, who held the one-year post from June 2011.

In his inaugural speech that called for the hospital community to unite during the healthcare reform efforts now underway in the state, Slavin said “For more than 200 years, the hospital community in this state has tackled our society's most significant health care challenges -- influenza epidemics, polio epidemics, and world wars to name a few.  I would argue that perhaps the most significant threat to the future health of the people of Massachusetts is the rising cost of healthcare itself.  We must tackle this challenge head on just like the others.  To do so is our greatest challenge, our solemn responsibility, and a remarkable opportunity for us to lead."

The theme of MHA's annual gathering is “A Reform Incubator: Nurturing the Transformation,” symbolic of the commonwealth’s status as a policy incubator for healthcare payment and delivery reform, and Massachusetts hospitals’ leading role in that continuing metamorphosis.

In her remarks before the gathering, MHA President & CEO Lynn Nicholas, FACHE touched on the many issues that have affected the healthcare sector overall and hospitals in particular over the past year, particularly state and federal healthcare reform. “While the rest of the nation is waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on the future of the Affordable Care Act, Massachusetts can reflect on the tremendous progress we have already made, and the fact that we are busy trailblazing in healthcare reform – regardless of what happens on the national stage,” she said.

Nicholas closed her speech with the anticipation of the passage of legislation that will bring Massachusetts to the next phase of healthcare reform, and the need for the hospital community to work collaboratively – both with each other and all other stakeholders. “Throughout the legislative process, MHA has worked tirelessly to nurture reform in ways that build consensus wherever possible and also to ensure that the state’s economic engine – in which  four out of the top 10 employers in Massachusetts are hospitals – doesn’t backfire, let alone stall,” said Nicholas. “And we will continue to use collaboration with other stakeholders as a vehicle for change.”
                                                                   
At today’s annual meeting, MHA's leadership team was announced for 2012-2013:
Officers
Chairman: Peter L. Slavin, M.D., President, Massachusetts General Hospital
Chair-elect: Patrick L. Muldoon, FACHE, President & CEO, HealthAlliance Hospitals
Treasurer:  Michael V. Sack, FACHE, President & CEO, Hallmark Health Corporation
Secretary: Peter J. Holden, President & CEO, Jordan Hospital
Immediate Past Chair: Normand E. Deschene, FACHE, President & CEO, Lowell General Hospital
Immediate Past Chair Most Recently Retired: Ellen M. Zane, MA, Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, Tufts Medical Center

Trustees-at-large

• Bruce S. Auerbach, M.D., FACEP, V.P. & Chief, Ambulatory & E.R. Services, Sturdy Memorial Hospital
• John M. Lowe, III, Ph.D., MS, Trustee, Emerson Hospital
• David E. Phelps, MBA, President & CEO, Berkshire Health Systems
• Kathy Schuler, R.N., MS, President-Elect, Organization of Nurse Leaders- Massachusetts & Rhode Island, and V.P., Patient Care Services & CNO, Winchester Hospital
• Kevin F. Smith, President & CEO, Winchester Hospital
• Andrei Soran, MSM, CEO, MetroWest Medical Center
• David E. Storto, President, Partners Continuing Care
• Kevin Tabb, M.D., President & CEO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Dianne J. Anderson, R.N., MS, President & CEO, Lawrence General Hospital
• Howard R. Grant, JD, M.D., President & CEO, Lahey Clinic
• Patricia L. Hannon, FACHE, President & CEO, New England Baptist Hospital
• Michael K. Lauf, MBA, President & CEO, Cape Cod Healthcare, Inc.
• Joel M. Rudin, CEO, New England Rehabilitation Hospital
• Delia Vetter, Senior Director of Benefits and Programs, EMC Corporation – Other Field Expert
• Neal J. Curtin, Esq., Trustee, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc.
• John R. Fernandez, President & CEO, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary
• Charles D. Gijanto, President, Baystate Regional Markets, Baystate Franklin Medical Center, and Baystate Mary Lane Hospital
• Keith A. Hovan, President & CEO, Southcoast Hospitals Group
• Edward H. Moore, President & CEO, Harrington Hospital
• Francis M. Saba, CEO, Milford Regional Healthcare System, Inc.
• Peter W. Siersma, M.D., Trustee, Cooley Dickinson Hospital
• Kate Walsh, MPH, President & CEO, Boston Medical Center
• Lynn Nicholas, FACHE, president & CEO, MHA

The Board also elected the chairs of each of MHA’s standing committees: 

• Bruce S. Auerbach, M.D., FACEP, V.P. & Chief, Ambulatory & E.R. Services, Sturdy Memorial Hospital – Chair, Clinical Issues Advisory Council
• Charles D. Gijanto, President, Baystate Regional Markets, Baystate Franklin Medical Center, and Baystate Mary Lane Hospital – Chair, Standing Committee on Finance
• Andrei Soran, MSM, CEO, MetroWest Medical Center – Chair, Standing Committee on Public Affairs
• John M. Lowe, III, Ph.D., MS, Trustee, Emerson Hospital – Chair, Trustee Advisory Council

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