Lynn Nicholas, FACHE, President & Chief Executive Officer

Lynn Nicholas, FACHE, joined the Massachusetts Hospital Association as President and CEO in August 2007 bringing more than 30 years of hospital and association experience.

Before her appointment to MHA, Ms. Nicholas led the American Diabetes Association and prior to that, she served as President and CEO of the Louisiana Hospital Association, following her tenure as EVP/COO of the New Jersey Hospital Association.  This built on her 20 years working in a New Jersey hospital where she progressed from a Medical Technologist to a Senior Vice President.

Named by the Boston Women's Business as one of the "Five Women to Watch" in 2008, Lynn has since been inducted into the Massachusetts Women's Forum. Lynn has served on the Massachusetts Attorney General's Task Force on Community Benefits and the Special Commissions on the Healthcare Payment System and Provider Price Reform.  She is a sought after speaker on matters of health policy and leadership. Lynn gave the 2012 Paul J. Corcoran, M.D., Lecture at the graduation and awards ceremony for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Due to Lynn’s steadfast commitment to health and wellness as a leadership priority, in 2011 MHA was awarded the Boston Business Journal's inaugural Healthiest Employer Award for the small business category, and the association also received the Massachusetts department of Public Health’s Make Smoking History Award for launching a successful statewide voluntary public health initiative to ban all tobacco products from hospital campuses.

Lynn earned her B.S. in medical technology from Tennessee Wesleyan College and in 2005 received the J. Neal Ensminger Distinguished Alumnus Award from her alma mater.  She earned an M.A. in health management from Central Michigan University in 1983.  A board-certified Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, she served on their national Board from 2003 to 2006 and has received several ACHE recognitions.  She was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters in Health Services from Salem State University. 

Lynn resides in Boston with her husband "Nick."

Timothy F. Gens, Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Tim Gens is Executive Vice President and the General Counsel at the Massachusetts Hospital Association. The point person on a number of the association's most  important and sweeping activities — from creation of the patient safety and quality care initiative that has become PatientCareLink  to positioning the hospital community at the center of the state's historic  healthcare reform effort — he leads a team of committed advocates,  policy analysts, and lobbyists. Now in his 18th year at MHA, he has served in several leadership positions involving public policy and reform of the healthcare system, private and public regulation of hospitals, and initiatives to promote improvement in patient safety and quality care. Tim also oversees legal affairs for the association.

Prior to joining MHA, Tim served in or consulted to the public sector at the federal, state, and  municipal levels. He has held senior positions responsible  for  policy, planning, development, marketing, and legal counsel services.  Early in his career he served as a management and marketing strategist for a national consulting firm and eventually formed a company which provided similar services to public, private, and non-profit sector clients across the country. 

Tim holds a BA from Boston College and a JD from Boston College Law School.

James T. Kirkpatrick, Senior Vice President, Healthcare Finance and Managed Care

For 25 years, Joe Kirkpatrick has been employed by the Massachusetts Hospital Association. He is currently Senior Vice President, Health Care Finance and Managed Care Advocacy. He served as Contract Officer for the Association on the Medicare Massachusetts “All Payor” Research and Demonstration Waiver from 1982 through 1985. Joe's work at the association has included: staffing negotiations of statewide Blue Cross/Hospital Master Contracts in 1985 and 1988; work on state hospital financing legislation (including both regulation and deregulation, uncompensated care pool reform, and Massachusetts' recent Health Care Reform Law); advocating for member hospitals with federal and state agencies and private sector payers on such matters as coverage, payment, claims processing, and utilization management; and analysis and explanation of Medicare, Medicaid, and private sector policy changes. He is also responsible for MHA's work to help improve Medicare reimbursement for Massachusetts hospitals especially in regard to the area wage index.

Christine A. Baratta, Vice President of Marketing and Communications

Christine Baratta serves as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the association and oversees all communications and marketing efforts related to strategic and policy positions taken by the association. Prior to her arrival at MHA, Christine served as Senior Vice President of Communications and Marketing at Caritas Christi Health Care (CCHC), now Steward Health Care, the state’s second-largest healthcare system. Christine also worked as Director and Interim Vice President of Public Affairs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), one of the nation’s top hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School and a member of Partners HealthCare. In addition, she has held positions in both media relations and marketing at National Grid, formerly New England Electric System, and worked as a publications specialist for the Central Artery / Tunnel Project.

During her career, Christine has been honored with numerous professional awards of excellence. She is a graduate of Boston University where she earned a B.S. in Journalism. She is also a 2010 Fellow of The Mass. Healthcare Leadership College.

Anuj K. Goel, Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs

Anuj Goel, JD, MPH, is the vice president of legal and regulatory affairs for the Massachusetts Hospital Association. In this role, he is responsible for providing legal research on relevant federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to the hospital industry; including issues relating to HIPAA, Medicare, MassHealth, case management, clinical policies, and processing of medical claims.  He also develops MHA member communications to educate hospitals on the requirements needed to comply with regulatory and legal issues. Anuj works closely with the MHA Government Advocacy Team to coordinate and write legislation required by the association, as well as presenting testimony on legislation and regulations. Additionally, he manages health access, community benefits, and community initiative issues impacting the hospital community.

Anuj’s extensive health care background includes prior positions as a surgical assistant, a medical assistant, and in medical billing and coding.  Anuj received his bachelor’s degree from the Miami University of Ohio; his master’s degree in public health from Boston University; and his juris doctorate from the Suffolk University School of Law.   

Patricia M. Noga, PhD, RN, MBA, NEA-BC, Vice President, Clinical Affairs

Pat Noga is Vice President of Clinical Affairs for the Massachusetts Hospital Association. She leads a variety of clinical and health system-related programs that assist Massachusetts hospitals to continually improve patient safety and quality of care, while keeping the patient and family at the center of the healthcare delivery system.

Pat served since 2007 as MHA’s Senior Director of Clinical Affairs. Prior to joining the MHA staff, she was Chief Retention Officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center from 2004 to 2007, and Clinical Director of Inpatient Services & Nursing at Tufts Medical Center from 1994-2004, and Nurse Manager at Tufts MC from 1984 to 1994. In all of these positions, Pat provided nursing and advisory leadership to the hospital’s executive leaders and clinical staff.

Pat received her Associate in Liberal Arts degree from Elmira College and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Skidmore College. She received her MBA from Suffolk University and her doctoral degree in health policy from the University of Massachusetts. She is board certified in nursing administration, advanced, through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Michael E. Sroczynski, Esq., Vice President, Government Advocacy 

Michael Sroczynski, Esq,  has been part of MHA’s government advocacy team for 10 years, starting initially as manager of state government advocacy. Prior to joining MHA, he served as legislative counsel in the Massachusetts State Senate.
 
He is a graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law and the Whitman School of Business at Syracuse University. He has been a member of the Massachusetts bar since 1996. Michael is an active member of both the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association. He is a member of the MBA's Healthcare Section and the BBA’s Healthcare and Labor Sections. He co-chairs the BBA's Healthcare Legislation sub-committee and sits on the Healthcare Section steering committee.
 
He is a member of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Health Council, a former board member of the Massachusetts Center for Nursing, and also serves on the board of directors of the Vision Coalition Massachusetts. In early 2009, Governor Deval Patrick appointed Michael to the state's Healthcare Workforce Advisory Council.
 
In his role at MHA, Michael is the leader of state and federal government advocacy efforts and is an active participant in numerous business, workforce and healthcare coalitions and partnerships.

Patricia Crowley, Vice President, Governance and Member Relations

Patty Crowley, Vice President, Governance and Member Relations, oversees the integration and leadership of multiple functions including Governance, Member Relations, and Strategic Planning, in support of advancing MHA's mission, goals and objectives.

Patty's prior service to MHA includes roles as Chief of Staff and member of MHA's senior management team, where she primarily was responsible for aligning strategic processes with tactical planning to advance MHA's mission as well as directing MHA's Governance function. In her 20 plus years at MHA, Patty also has held numerous posts within the Member Services and Executive Office as well as with the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals.  Prior to joining MHA, Patty was employed by BayBank Harvard Trust as a key member of their Operations Team.

Her interests include governance, strategic planning, mediation and coaching.  
 

Nancy Siopes, MBA, CPCU, CIC, CRM, AAI, President, MHA Insurance Agency (MHAIA) and Vice President, Operations at MHA

Nancy Siopes, President, MHA Insurance Agency (MHAIA) and Vice President, Operations, oversees both the association’s insurance arm and its operations departments, including Finance, Education, IT, Facilities, and Human Resources. She is also responsible for oversight of MHA’s new Conference Center. She joined MHAIA in 2010 and assumed the new, combined role in January of 2013.

In her first two years at the helm of MHAIA, Nancy overhauled and brought the insurance agency to state-of-the-art capability within its organizational structure, streamlined operations, and expanded both coverage offerings and customer services to MHA members. Her vision and leadership skills are now expanded to Operations and ensure that MHA will continue to move forward successfully.

Prior to her work at MHA, Nancy held several senior positions within the finance and insurance industries. She is an MBA graduate of Western New England College and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Northeastern University, both with high honors.

Peter L. Slavin, Chair, President, Massachusetts General Hospital

Peter Slavin, MD became the President of Massachusetts General Hospital on January 1, 2003. From 1999-2002, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, which includes over 1,700 physicians and employs nearly 1,000 of them.

From 1997 to 1999, Dr. Slavin served as President of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Before that, he did his training in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1984 to 1987 and was Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer from 1994 to 1997.

Dr. Slavin graduated from Harvard College in 1979, Harvard Medical School in 1984, and Harvard Business School in 1990.

Dr. Slavin teaches internal medicine and health care management at Harvard Medical School where he is a Professor of Health Care Policy. He has also spoken widely on such topics as quality and utilization management, the economics of teaching hospitals, and the state of physician practices.

Patrick Muldoon, FACHE, Chair-elect, President & CEO, HealthAlliance Hospitals, Inc.

     Patrick Muldoon presently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of HealthAlliance Hospitals, Inc.
     and Central New England HealthAlliance, Inc. serving the residents of North Central Massachusetts and
     Southern New Hampshire.  HealthAlliance Hospital is the largest community hospital within the UMass
     Memorial Health Care System.  Patrick has extensive experience in various administrative roles, including
     service as President and Chief Executive Officer of South County Hospital (RI) Healthcare System and Northern
     Berkshire Health System (MA). Mr. Muldoon began his career in association management at the American
     Osteopathic Hospital Association (IL) before beginning his hospital career at Cranston General Hospital (RI). 
     At age 28, Patrick served in his initial CEO position at Riverside Hospital in Michigan.  Patrick earned his
     undergraduate degree in Health Services Administration from Providence College (RI) and a Master’s Degree
     in Business Administration from Loyola University of Chicago.  He is currently a Fellow of the American College
     of Health Care Executives.

Mr. Muldoon currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Hospital Association and recently chaired the Special Committee on Finance.  Patrick has served in several leadership positions with the American Hospital Association and The Joint Commission.  Patrick’s opinions are sought by the electronic and print media and he is regularly quoted in the Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Worcester Business Journal and the Sentinel & Enterprise newspapers in North Central Massachusetts.  Throughout his career, Patrick has placed a high priority on service to the community.  He is the Past Chair of the United Way Capital Campaign and Past Chair of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.  He serves on the Boards of the Worker’s Credit Union, Spanish American Center, the Shine Initiative of Fidelity Bank and the Regional Economic Development Institute at Fitchburg State College.  In recognition of Community Service, Mr. Muldoon received the Multi Cultural Center’s Distinguished Service Award in 2009 and the Community Health Champion Award from Community Health Connections in 2010.

Collaborating with physicians, employees and the community, Mr. Muldoon initially led a financial turnaround at HealthAlliance Hospital in 2005.  Since that time the team has led the hospital to rank as one of the top ten performing

Michael V. Sack, FACHE, Treasurer, President & CEO, Hallmark Health System, Inc.

Michael V. Sack, FACHE is President and Chief Executive Officer of Hallmark Health System, Inc., a multi-hospital regional healthcare system providing comprehensive services to suburbs north of Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Sack has extensive experience as a healthcare administrator and has gained expertise in generating physician collaboration, identifying operational needs, and advancing grass root connections within the community. Mr. Sack runs a financially sound organization based upon positive relationships between the Board of Trustees and Medical Staff, outstanding clinical personnel, and a “Culture of Confidence” throughout the organization.

Mr. Sack is a current Board Member of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, the Voluntary Hospitals of America – Northeast, a member of the American Hospital Association’s Metropolitan Governing Council, and is President of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals. Mr. Sack serves as Faculty Advisor to the Georgia Southern University’s Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health.  He is an author and presenter of various health care topics to professional groups.  Mr. Sack holds a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine and School of Business, and a Bachelors of Arts degree from St. Louis University.  He serves professionally as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Peter J. Holden, Secretary, President & CEO, Jordan Hospital

Peter joined Jordan Hospital in October, 2007.  He serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Jordan Health Systems, Inc. and several of its subsidiaries. Peter has over thirty years of experience in Hospital Administration and has a reputation for superb leadership and a history of achieving outstanding results in diverse healthcare organizations. His experience includes Caritas Christi Health Care System, INC. serving as President & CEO at Caritas Holy Family Hospital and Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center, Vice President, System Operations, Trihealth, INC., President and Chief Operating Officer, Good Samaritan Hospital, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vitalnet Group, Vice President, Management and Planning Services, Hospital Association of New York State Management and Planning Services INC., and Chief Executive Officer, Clifton Fine Hospital.

While at Caritas Christi Health Care System, Peter orchestrated a financial turnaround from a $14 million dollar annual loss and default on bonds to a $6 million dollar annual gain in just over three years.  He reversed a medical staff exodus to build the largest active staff in hospital history through recruitment, retention and establishment of a healthy and collaborative culture.  He also, initiated ongoing fundraising efforts and conducted a successful capital campaign to support major expansion and modernization programs.

At Trihealth, INC. and Good Samaritan Hospital, Peter consolidated the management, operations, staff and clinical programs of three large institutions into an efficient integrated healthcare delivery system and also created an open heart cardiovascular program at Bethesda North Hospital.  He improved operating and clinical systems which improved hospital performance resulting in an $80 million dollar increase in fund balances.  The hospital was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s “Top 100 Hospitals”.

Peter received his Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University in 1976 and a Masters in Hospital Administration from Xavier University in 1994. Peter resides in Duxbury with his wife Judy and their fours sons.

Normand E. Deschene, Immediate Past Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer, Lowell General

Norm Deschene serves as president and chief executive officer of Lowell General Hospital. Mr. Deschene is responsible for the overall vision and leadership of the hospital's management including strategic planning, community relations, and physician relations.

Under his leadership, the hospital has garnered numerous quality, satisfaction, and financial benchmark recognitions including the 2006 Thomson Top 100 Hospitals: Performance Improvement Leader Award; the Volunteer Hospital Association's 2007 Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence; 2008 Cleverley + Associates Top 100 Community Value Provider award; the American Heart Association's 2008 "Get with the Guidelines" Gold award honoring performance achievement for cardiac care; and a Moody's A-Rating.

Mr. Deschene holds a master’s degree in Hospital Administration from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree from Providence College. A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Mr. Deschene served as a past regent for the College for the state of Massachusetts and was named the "Healthcare Executive of the Year" in 2006.

Mr. Deschene is an active member of the American Hospital Association, Hospital Financial Management Association, Healthcare Management Association of Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Hospital Association. He serves as secretary and a board member of the Massachusetts Hospital Association and is the past chairman of the MHA Standing Committee on Finance. He also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of Voluntary Hospitals of America Northeast. Mr. Deschene was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Goddard Council, advising upon the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math curriculum for the Commonwealth, and is a member of the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety Expert Panel in Obstetrics.

Locally, he serves as the chairman of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lowell and is a board member of the American Textile Museum, Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council, and The Lowell Plan. He is also a past chairman of the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce.

Ellen M. Zane, Immediate Past Chair Most Recently Retired, Former President & Chief Executive Officer, Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children

Ellen Zane is a nationally renowned health care leader who recently retired as President & Chief Executive Officer of Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children. She was the first woman to run the hospital in its 215-year history.  The hospital employs more 5,000 doctors, nurses, researchers, and other healthcare workers, includes Floating Hospital for Children, and has 450 beds. Ellen remains highly involved at Tufts Medical Center as a vice chair of the Board of Trustees, strategic advisor and fund-raising advocate. Ellen is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Care Research at Tufts University School of Medicine.  For the period of 2011 to 2013, Ellen is a Distinguished Guest Lecturer in Healthcare Administration at the Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University.

From 1994 to 2004, Ellen held the position of Network President for Partners HealthCare System, Inc.  In this capacity, she was responsible for the development of a provider network featuring the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women's Hospital.  The network encompassed 5600 physicians and represented $800+ million of managed care revenue. Today, this entity represents one of the largest physician networks in America.

Prior to that, Ellen was the Chief Executive Officer at Quincy Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts.  Ellen was an employee of HCA and then Quorum Health Resources in this capacity. 

Ellen received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in 1973 and her Master of Arts degree in 1975 from the Catholic University of America in Washington.  She holds the following honorary degrees:  Doctorate of Commercial Science from Bentley University, Doctorate of Business Administration from Stonehill College, and Doctorate of Humane Letters from Curry College.

Ellen is currently a Director of Parexel International (NASDAQ-PRXL), a Director of Lincare Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ-LNCR), a Director of Century Capital Management, a Director of Fiduciary Trust Company, an Advisory Board Member of Vetera Healthcare Partners, LLC and a Healthcare Advisory Board Member of Pinstripe, Inc.  She is a Trustee of George Washington University, is a member of the Health Policy and Management Executive Council at the Harvard School of Public Health.