Chutes and Ladders—Boston area hospital CEO out after investigation; HCA Virginia names CEO

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.


South Shore Hospital

Gene Green, the CEO of South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., will not return to the job after a two-month administrative leave.  

The Boston Business Journal reported Green would not return following the leave for "various operational and administrative issues." The Patriot Ledger reported Green's suspension—along with that of Wayne Stockbridge, the chief administrative and human resource officer—came less than a week after Pamela Whelton, the first female president of South Shore Hospital, stepped down after four months on the job.

Rose Di Pietro, who came out of retirement to work as acting CEO, will continue on serving as interim president and CEO, they reported.
 


Ryan Jensen
(HCA Virginia)

HCA Virginia

Ryan Jensen was named the new CEO of Richmond, Va.-based HCA Virginia's Henrico, Parham and Retreat Doctors' Hospitals. 

Jensen will begin the role Nov. 1. He replaces Will Wagnon, who served as CEO from 2013 to 2019.

Jensen was formerly CEO of Universal Health Services' (UHS) Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas, a 293-bed tertiary care facility. He was also previously CEO at Memorial Hospital of Salem County in New Jersey.

Jensen received his Masters of Health Services Administration from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science from Brigham Young University.


Debby Houston 
(AAMA)

AAMA

Debby Houston was installed as the 2019-2020 American Association of Medical Assistants' President during its 63rd annual conference.

In this capacity, Houston, a resident of Churchville, Virginia, represents medical assistants and CMAs. She has worked in family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics for 48 years and retired from the University of Virginia Physicians Group.

Houston has previously served in other capacities for the AAMA, including as a member of the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee and Membership Development Strategy Team and in numerous positions for the Virginia Society of Medical Assistants.


Edmund Kroll, who is the senior vice president of finance and investor relations at Centene Corp., plans to retire April 30. The company has not yet announced his replacement.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) named Matt Collins, M.D., MBA, to the role of executive vice president and chief medical officer. Collins succeeds Gus Manocchia, M.D., who joined BCBSRI in 2002.

> Phil Bongiorno joined Alexandria, Va.-based AMCP as vice president, policy and government relations. He will oversee AMCP’s advocacy efforts to advance managed care pharmacy principles and practices through health care legislation and regulation.

> Nine new Fellows will be inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI). They include Jake Y. Chen of the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Trevor A. Cohen of the University of Washington; Mary K. Goldstein, M.D., of Stanford University; Marcy Harris of the University of Michigan School of Nursing; Albert Lai of the Washington University Institute for Informatics; Zhiyong Lu of the National Library of Medicine; Omolola I. Ogunyemi of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science; Brigitte Seroussi, M.D., of Sorbonne University; and Annette L. Valenta, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Applied Health Sciences.