Tag: Ness

Health & Hospital Association Elects 2021-2022 Officers and Board Members

Member News, News Releases
Tina

Tina Freese DeckerMembers of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) elected new officers and appointed board members during the association’s virtual Annual Membership Meeting June 24. Officers of the 2021-2022 MHA Board of Trustees include Tina Freese Decker, chair; T. Anthony Denton, chair-elect; and Daniel Babcock, treasurer. The board directs the greater Lansing-based association’s statewide representation of hospitals and healthcare providers.

Freese Decker, president and CEO, Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids, will serve as chair during the association’s 2021-2022 program year beginning July 1. The terms of service of Denton, senior vice president and chief operating officer, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, and Babcock, CEO, Marlette Regional Hospital and Deckerville Community Hospital, will also span the 2021-2022 program year. Edwin Ness, president and CEO, Munson Healthcare, Traverse City, will serve as immediate past chair.

Beth Charlton, executive vice president and chief nursing officer, Covenant HealthCare, Saginaw, was appointed as a trustee at-large for a three-year term. Gar Atchison, chief executive officer, UP Health System – Marquette, and market president, UP Health System; and Bill Manns, president and CEO, Bronson Healthcare, Kalamazoo, were appointed as trustees at-large for two-year terms.

Reappointed for three-year terms on the 2021-2022 MHA Board of Trustees as trustees at-large were Kenneth Berkovitz, MD, senior vice president, Ascension, and ministry market executive, Ascension Michigan; Robert Riney, president, healthcare operations, and chief operating officer, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit; Diane Postler-Slattery, PhD, president and CEO, MidMichigan Health, Midland; and Shannon Striebich, president, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, and senior vice president of operations, Trinity Michigan, Pontiac.

Continuing to serve their current terms of service as trustees at-large are Karen Cheeseman, president and CEO, Mackinac Straits Health System, St. Ignace; James Dover, president and CEO, Sparrow Health System, Lansing; Mark Eastburg, PhD, president and CEO, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, Grand Rapids; John Fox, president and CEO, Beaumont Health, Southfield; Audrey Gregory, PhD, Group CEO, Detroit Medical Center; Timothy Johnson, president and CEO, Eaton Rapids Medical Center; Gregory R. Lane, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, McLaren Health Care, Grand Blanc; Shelleye Yaklin, president and CEO, North Ottawa Community Health System, Grand Haven; and Julie Yaroch, DO, president, Promedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital, Adrian. In addition, Brian Peters was reappointed to serve an indefinite term of office as CEO of the association.

MHA Board of Trustees Wraps up Unprecedented Program Year

Member News

The MHA Board of Trustees concluded the 2020-2021 program year by holding its first in-person meeting of the year at the MHA offices in Okemos for fully vaccinated attendees. As with every meeting since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the board reviewed the latest statewide COVID-19-related data and took a moment to reflect on the daunting toll the virus has taken in lives lost and strain placed on healthcare workers and all Michiganders. It was noted that, since the onset of the pandemic, Michigan hospitals have treated over 450,000 COVID-19 patients in emergency departments and admitted more than 120,000 for inpatient care, including 4,500 children. Despite these sobering statistics, the board celebrated the continued steep decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and infections, as well as advancements in treatment since the onset of the pandemic; however, members expressed concern about slowing rates of vaccination as more infectious variants continue to spread nationally.

The board welcomed the staff of the Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA), which represents osteopathic physicians statewide, as new tenants within the MHA headquarters building. MOA CEO and executive director, Kris Nicholoff, addressed the board and noted the longstanding and strong relationship between hospitals and the osteopathic community, which can be further strengthened through the new space-sharing arrangement.

The board also received a report on the status of healthcare funding priorities in the fiscal year 2022 state budget, which continue to be deliberated in the Legislature, as well as recent activities related to the statewide roll-out and provider concerns related to recent reforms to Michigan’s auto no-fault insurance law. Current Health PAC Chair and incoming MHA Board of Trustees Chair Tina Freese Decker provided an update on the status of the 2021 MHA Health PAC campaign, which has been extended through July 31. Freese Decker encouraged eligible individuals and organizations to meet their contribution goals. Information about the MHA Health PAC can be found online. The board also approved type 3 membership and Endorsed Business Partnership for NextJob, a nationwide reemployment solutions company.

The board concluded the meeting by acknowledging outgoing board members Edward Bruff, president & CEO, Covenant Healthcare, Saginaw; James (Chip) Falahee, senior vice president, Legal & Legislative Affairs, Bronson Healthcare Group, Kalamazoo; and David Jahn, president & CEO, War Memorial Hospital, Sault Ste. Marie. The board also recognized outgoing chair Ed Ness, president & CEO, Munson Healthcare, Traverse City, for his leadership during such a challenging program year and extended its best wishes to incoming chair Tina Freese Decker, president & CEO, Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids, for a successful year ahead. For more information about actions of the MHA Board of Trustees, contact Amy Barkholz at the MHA.