Lynn Nicholas, FACHE, President and 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, Lynn 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, she has since been inducted into the Massachusetts Women's Forum. Lynn has served on the Massachusetts Attorney General's Task Force on Community Benefits, the Special Commission on the Healthcare Payment System, the Special Commission on Provider Price Reform, plus numerous other boards, advisory councils and philanthropic leadership committees.  She is a sought after speaker on matters of health policy and recently received the New England Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society 2010 Presenter of the Year Award. In 2011, Lynn was awarded the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Make Smoking History Award for her efforts to launch a 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 17th 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 the public sector at the federal, state, and  municipal levels where he 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 physician’s 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 Srocyznski, 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.

Walter J. Ramos, Esq., Vice President, Operations

As Vice President of Operations, Walter Ramos, Esq.  is responsible for MHA's education, finance, human resources, information technology, building and office services, as well as all programs that generate revenue for the association outside of its dues structure.
 
He most recently worked as Chief Administrator, Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan, a $1 billion Medicaid Managed Care Organization. Before that he was Director of Administration, Boston Public Health Commission (1998 – 2007), where he oversaw a number of functions for the 1,200-employee Commission with a $138 million budget.
 
Walter holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, and received his B.A. from Roger Williams University. Walter began his career while in college, working as Special Assistant to the late United States Senator Edward Kennedy, from 1980-1983. 

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. Patty can be reached at pcrowley@mhalink.org.

Normand E. Deschene, Chair, President and 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.

Peter L. Slavin, Chair-elect, 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.

Joseph J. Mullany, Treasurer, President & Chief Executive Officer of Vanguard Health Systems New England Market

Joe Mullany is President of the New England and Chicago Markets of Vanguard Health Systems, with operational responsibility for five hospitals with net revenues of approximately $1 billion dollars, since 2005.

Mr. Mullany has worked in a variety of healthcare settings and has focused on the investor-owned segment for nearly two decades.  Before Vanguard, he was a Vice President at Essent Healthcare in Nashville, TN, where he had operational responsibility for the company’s New England hospitals from 2002 to 2005.         

Mr. Mullany also served as Corporate Vice President and President of the Mississippi division of Health Management Associates (HMA), responsible for nine hospitals with more than $1 billion in net revenues from 1999 to 2002.  While with HMA, then Mississippi Governor David Ronnie Musgrove appointed him to serve on the Mississippi State Board of Health.

Prior to managing at the system level, Mr. Mullany spent time as the CEO of several organizations, CEO of Central Mississippi Medical Center, 1998 to 1999, CEO of Biloxi Regional Medical Center from 1996 to 1998, and CEO Southbay Hospital in Tampa, Florida, 1994 to 1996.

Mr. Mullany serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals. He is a former board member of the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives.

He is a graduate of Wake Forest University and has a Master of Business Administration and Master of Health Science degree from the University of Florida.

Mr. Mullany and his wife Cori live in Wellesley with their three daughters. 

Walter H. Ettinger, Secretary, President, University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center

Walt Ettinger, MD is the President of the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, a 781-bed teaching hospital that is the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Ettinger is also Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the Medical School.

His previous professional positions include Vice President of Medical Affairs and Education at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, Executive Vice President of Virtua Health in Marlton New Jersey and Director of the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Dr. Ettinger received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and did his residency training at Yale New Haven Hospital in Internal Medicine. He completed a fellowship in Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins and a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Aging. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Rheumatology and Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Ettinger also holds an MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University.

He is board certified in internal medicine, rheumatology and geriatric medicine. He remains active as a clinician, teacher and scholar. His areas of expertise are prevention of physical disability in old age, clinical quality and patient safety, and health care management.

Ellen M. Zane, Immediate Past Chair, 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

Dale M. Lodge, Immediate Past Chairman Most Recently Retired, President and Chief Executive Officer, Winchester Healthcare Management, Inc.

Dale Lodge has been President and CEO of Winchester Healthcare Management, Inc. (parent company of Winchester Hospital) since 1998. Prior to joining Winchester Hospital, he was Senior Vice President of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and was responsible for managing all hospital and physician relations throughout the state. Mr. Lodge served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Leonard Morse Hospital and was Chief Executive Officer of its physician organization. Mr. Lodge also held administrative positions at the Brigham and Women’s and Beth Israel hospitals.

Mr. Lodge is a Past-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA) and a member of the MHA Executive Committee, past-President of the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Yankee Alliance, and a member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable’s Committee on Healthcare.  He was also named Massachusetts Grassroots Champion in 2007 by the American Hospital Association for advocacy on behalf of Massachusetts patients, hospitals and health systems to elected officials.