University of Alabama Health Services Foundation names president, and more | MED MOVES

Cheri Canon has been selected as the next president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

Cheri Canon (UAB Health)

Canon will also serve as the chief physician executive of the UAB Health System. She will formally transition into the titles on May 1, following the retirement of Tony Jones.

She has spent almost three decades at UAB, and has served as the chair of the radiology department since 2011. Canon is also the chief clinical integration officer for the UAB Health System.

“It is an honor to serve as the next HSF president and UAB Health System chief physician executive, following Dr. Tony Jones and the foundation he has laid,” Canon said in a statement.

“I am energized by the direction of UAB Medicine, and I look forward to my new roles and working closely with the clinical chairs, UAB Health System leadership including CEO Dawn Bulgarella and Heersink School of Medicine Dean Anupam Agarwal in this next phase of my career.”

Bulgarella said in a statement that Canon is well-suited for her new roles.

“Dr. Canon’s deep roots at UAB and her skilled and dedicated leadership make her an excellent choice for HSF president and UAB Health System CPE,” Bulgarella said. “We look forward to supporting Dr. Canon as she continues to build on the solid foundation Dr. Jones has laid and working with her to shape the future of the Heersink School of Medicine, the UAB Health System and the HSF.”

David C. Linehan (University of Rochester Medical Center)

University of Rochester Medical Center selects CEO

David C. Linehan has been named the CEO of the University of Rochester Medical Center.

He will also serve as dean of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and senior vice president for health sciences. He will begin in these roles on February 1.

“I am so grateful and honored for the opportunity to lead the Medical Center as CEO and the School of Medicine and Dentistry as dean,” Linehan said in a statement.

“While the challenges in health care delivery are many, the demand for our services is ever-growing and we are well-positioned for the future,” he said. “I will work tirelessly with all of you as we focus on improving our clinical, educational, and research efforts to better serve our patients, faculty, allied health professionals, trainees, staff, and our greater community.”

Linehan joined the University of Rochester in 2014 as chair of the medical center’s department of surgery at URMC. He is also currently associate director for clinical research at the Wilmot Cancer Institute and is the Seymour I. Schwartz Professor in Surgery, a faculty position he will continue to hold.

Lineham succeeds Mark Taubman, who has served as CEO since 2015. Taubman had previously announced his plans to retire in September 2022.

Before going to Rochester, he served at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He served as a professor of surgery and was chief of hepatobiliary-pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery.

Patrick Lee (Central Health)

Central Health chooses new president and CEO

Patrick Lee has been named the president and CEO of Central Health in Austin, Texas.

Most recently, Lee has served as chairman of medicine for One Brooklyn Health, a safety net health system serving more than one million residents of New York City.

Lee takes over a hospital district serving more than 152,000 people with low incomes in Austin and Travis County.

“I am inspired by the people of Central Health and the tremendous opportunity ahead of us,” Lee said in a statement. “I am joining an organization full of people whose values I share and whose commitment to healthcare justice I recognize and honor. The organization has numerous strengths and broad experience in partnership and community engagement.”

Lee is a practicing internal medicine physician. He was chosen after a six-month national search in a process that included community input, the system said.

Ann Kitchen, the incoming chair of the system’s board of managers, said in a statement that Lee “is exactly the right person to lead Central Health at this moment in time.”

“As a practicing physician, he understands and cares for patients who’ve faced historical barriers accessing healthcare,” Kitchen said.

Lee succeeds Mike Geeslin, who began serving as CEO in 2017; his last day as CEO was Dec. 31.

Gratia Pitcher (Essentia Health)

Essentia Health names chief medical officer

Gratia Pitcher has been chosen to serve as the new chief medical officer of Essentia Health.

Pitcher has served as the interim chief medical officer since October and has been with Essentia since 2015. She began serving as chief quality and patient safety officer since May 2020, and is credited with helping Essentia boost its quality ratings.

Pitcher said she was honored to be chosen for the position.

“I remain committed to ensuring our patients have access to the highest quality of care, our colleagues have the best work experience and that all of us work toward our mission and make our values visible,” Pitcher said in a statement.

“I believe all great ideas originate from conversations we have with our closest colleagues,” she said. “I look forward to those conversations and developing ideas that emerge from them as we make a healthy difference in our patients’ lives and our own lives.”

David Herman, Essentia’s CEO, touted Pitcher’s accomplishments.

“Dr. Pitcher has consistently demonstrated her ability to gain the perspectives and trust of her colleagues to advance the care of the patients we are privileged to serve,” Herman said in a statement. “She is the right clinical leader during this time of tremendous change in health care, and we are proud to have her in this important leadership role.”

Amy Hamilton (Detroit Medical Center)

Detroit Medical Center names chief nursing officer

Amy Hamilton has been appointed the group chief nursing officer for the Detroit Medical Center.

Hamilton has held the position in an interim capacity since March. Even as she has been elevated to the permanent post, she will continue in her role as chief nursing officer for DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital.

The medical center says that Hamilton will be focused on recruiting and retaining top nurses. She’s also going to strive to ensure consistency in patient care across the organization.

She will also work to improve relationships with nursing schools to expand opportunities for graduates at the medical center.

Hamilton joined Detroit Medical Center in 2019.