Kaiser Permanente names leader of Southern California, Hawaii region | MED MOVES

Michelle Gaskill-Hames (Image: Kaiser Permanente)

Michelle Gaskill-Hames has been named regional president of Kaiser Permanente for Southern California and Hawaii.

Gaskill-Hames has held the role on an interim basis since April 2023. Kaiser Permanente provides healthcare and coverage for more than 5 million members in the region.

Gaskill-Hames previously served as the chief operating officer and chief strategy, growth, and experience officer for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California and Hawaii. She was named interim president when Julie Miller-Phipps announced her retirement plans.

She joined Kaiser Permanente in 2016 and has served several leadership roles in the system. Previously, Gaskill-Hames served in hospital leadership roles, including Advocate Trinity Hospital in the Advocate Health Care network in Chicago.

“Michelle uses her deep operational knowledge and strategic focus to ensure that our members consistently receive high-quality care and service at every touchpoint,” said Janet Liang, executive vice president, group president and chief operating officer, care delivery, for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Hospitals, said Gaskill-Hames keeps members’ needs at the center of everything she does.

“Michelle uses her deep operational knowledge and strategic focus to ensure that our members consistently receive high-quality care and service at every touchpoint,” Liang said in a statement.

Seattle Children’s names chief scientific officer

Vittorio Gallo has been named the new senior vice president and chief scientific officer of Seattle Children’s.

Vittorio Gallo (Seattle Children's)

Gallo will serve as the principal scientific executive of the health system. He most recently served as both interim chief academic officer for Children’s National Hospital and interim director of Children’s National Research Institute. He spent 21 years at Children’s National.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to support this nationally recognized institution and I look forward to helping accelerate our research to have an even greater impact on pediatric healthcare,” Gallo said in a statement. “Our research community plays an essential role in helping deliver cutting-edge clinical care and I am eager to bolster our work to provide more hope, care and cures to the patients and families we serve.”

Gallo was also associate dean for child health research, and a professor of pediatrics, pharmacology and physiology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Jeff Sperring, CEO of Seattle Children’s, said in a statement that Gallo brings “a holistic perspective on strategic scientific development and implementation.”

WellSpan Health appoints chief people officer

Aaron Gillingham has been named senior vice president and chief people officer of WellSpan Health.

Aaron Gillingham (WellSpan Health)

Gillingham possesses more than 25 years of human resources leadership experience.

Most recently, he served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer at UnityPoint Health in Iowa.

“WellSpan is a growing force, known across the nation on a number of fronts, from its innovative efforts to prioritize and reimagine workforce solutions to its initiatives focused on diversity, equity and inclusion,” Gillingham said in a statement. “It’s an exciting time to be joining the organization and I look forward to developing close relationships with the team.”

Gillingham began the new role on Sept. 5. He has additional leadership experience in retail and financial services, including Walmart.

Roxanna Gapstur, president and CEO of WellSpan Health, said he’ll play a critical role with the Pennsylvania-based system, which employs more than 20,000 people.

“Aaron brings the skills and experience to advance WellSpan’s human capital strategy,” Gapstur said in a statement.

Bob Batory, who previously held a similar role at WellSpan, will be retiring Oct. 1.

ThedaCare chooses first leader of graduate medical education program

Christopher Stenberg has been named the leader of a new graduate medical education program at ThedaCare.

Christopher Stenberg (ThedaCare)

Stenberg will serve as vice president of graduate medical education & clinical research at ThedaCare. He will also have an appointment as assistant dean of graduate medical education at Medical College of Wisconsin. He began his new role on Sept. 18.

“I bring dedication, innovation and team leadership to the table, and greatly look forward to shaping the future direction of the GME program and developing the infrastructure for the new residencies across ThedaCare,” Stenberg said in a statement.

Prior to joining ThedaCare, Stenberg most recently served as vice president of medical education and system designated institutional official at Nuvance Health. He has held leadership, medical and educational positions at health systems in New York and Connecticut, Maine, Pennsylvania and Australia.

ThedaCare, based in Wisconsin, is planning to merge with Froedtert Health.