Chief Healthcare Executive

Several months after the merger of ThedaCare and Froedtert Health, Imran Amjad Andrabi, MD has moved into a new role as president and CEO of the merged organization. Dr. Andrabi has been serving as president of Froedtert Thedacare since January, and he now adds the CEO title as well with the retirement of Cathy Jacobson. He has said that one of his major goals is improving health equity, which requires different approaches in different areas. "Each community is different," he said.

Even before Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory calling gun violence a public health threat, some hospital and healthcare leaders such Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling have been increasingly vocal on the issue. At Northwell's gun violence forum earlier this year, he said, "Organizations are doing things today that they did not do before." Other leaders have been speaking up about the widespread public harm of gun violence.

This week, UCSF Health and the California attorney general's office reached a settlement over the system's plans to acquire two hospitals from CommonSpirit Health. UCSF Health is purchasing Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center, and the system will commit $430 million in capital investments. Suresh Gunasekaran, president and CEO of UCSF Health, says, "We want to ensure that Saint Francis and St. Mary’s are places our communities can continue to rely on for excellent care."

Hospitals and doctors have a message for those looking to light fireworks in their neighborhood during the July 4 weekend: Just don't. Leave the fireworks to the pros.

For the first time in three decades, Cedars-Sinai is getting a new leader. Peter Slavin, MD has been named the next president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Health System.  He'll succeed Tom Priselac, who has served as president and CEO for 30 years. "I am humbled to follow in Tom Priselac’s footsteps," Dr. Slavin said. "He has been one of my heroes as I’ve watched Cedars-Sinai’s progress over the years from 2,700 miles away. It is an incredible honor to join Cedars-Sinai and to do my part to build on the organization’s growth and success."

Hospitals are gearing up for an influx of patients with injuries and burns from fireworks on the cusp of the July 4 holiday. We talked with Erica Hodgman of Johns Hopkins Medicine about the types of injuries that typically appear in emergency departments and the impact on patients and families. "It's really hard to see the impact on the whole family, because there's usually a lot of guilt on the part of the parents, too," she says.

Just over a year ago, Valley Health launched its virtual nursing program. Theresa Trivette DNP RN CENP of Valley Health talked about the program, which utilizes virtual nurses to help answer patient questions and prepare for discharge, so bedside nurses can have more time with patients. So far, the results are encouraging. She says Valley Health wanted to "take some of the administrative burden off of our frontline team, so that they can be better focused on the care delivery at the bedside." She talks about the program and some lessons Valley Health has learned along the way.

Months after announcing plans to come together, the Atlantic Health System and Saint Peter’s Healthcare System have reached a definitive merger agreement. In the deal, Atlantic would acquire Saint Peter’s. Brian Gragnolati, president & CEO of Atlantic, called the agreement the “next step in our commitment to more accessible, affordable health care for the people of New Jersey.”

This week, UAB Medicine announced plans to acquire five Ascension hospitals in Alabama in a $450 million deal. The University of Alabama at Birmingham trustees unanimously voted in favor of the acquisition. Dawn Bulgarella, CEO of the UAB Health System, said, "UAB will make new and increased financial investments into clinical and other important infrastructure."

Hospitals and doctors are glad that the Supreme Court is allowing emergency abortion care in Idaho, at least for now. But they are anxious for clarity from the high court. Stella Dantas, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), said, "We are truly disappointed that this decision affords no long-term clarity of the law for doctors, no comfort or peace of mind for pregnant people living under abortion bans across the country." Here's the reaction from some key healthcare leaders to the much-anticipated ruling.