RWJBarnabas Health Announces Structural and Leadership Changes

On Feb 26, 2019

RWJBarnabas Health is restructuring its Southern Region and also announcing several changes in leadership, involving hospital, regional and corporate positions.  The announcement, by Barry H. Ostrowsky, president and chief executive officer of RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH), is effective immediately.

“These changes help to position us as a national leader in academic medicine, respond to the dynamically changing health care environment, and improve the health of our communities,” stated Mr. Ostrowsky. “While our hospitals continue to be the foundation of our delivery system, our focus is shifting from treating illness to maintaining the health of the people of New Jersey, training the next generation of health care providers and integrating care across the continuum.  We are effecting these structural changes to better achieve our goals.”

The Southern Region, newly-defined as comprising RWJBH facilities and programs in Monmouth and Ocean counties, are consolidating under a single leadership team. The primary focus of this leadership team is to integrate our services across the region to achieve high quality and cost effective care and expand our academic programs. In the newly-developed position of President, Southern Region, Bill Arnold has operational, philanthropic and strategic responsibilities for Community Medical Center in Toms River, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus in Lakewood and all other health care venues in the two counties.  Eric Carney has assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer of Monmouth Medical Center, and Patrick Ahearn is now Chief Executive Officer of Community Medical Center.  Frank Vozos, M.D., remains Chief Executive Officer of Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus.

A new Regional Management structure includes Regional Leaders, Management Cabinet and local hospital executive teams. The Regional Chief Financial Officer for the Southern Region is Nikolas Alexiades, who will coordinate financial functions over all business units in the Southern Region.  Shirley Hwang, RN, MSN, is Regional Vice President, Business Development, who will ensure a coordinated strategic approach to growth and business development in working with leadership teams at all regional facilities.

The Management Cabinet includes the Regional Leadership Team, Chief Executive Officers of acute care hospitals, the Regional Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), and the Regional Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).  Diann Johnston, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, has been appointed Regional Chief Nursing Officer, charged with facilitating implementation of safety, quality and patient engagement best practice across all facilities in the Southern Region, and Chief Nursing Officer at Monmouth Medical Center. Richard Kiernan has been appointed Regional Chief Human Resources Officer, serving to facilitate implementation of employee engagement, recruitment and retention of best practices across all regional facilities.  A search is being conducted for Chief Medical Officer Lead (CMO), who will serve as the liaison to the Regional Team for medical care.

”We believe these changes will work to advance the collective success of our three Southern organizations by integrating our services across the region to achieve safe, high quality and cost effective care, while expanding our academic programs,” Mr. Ostrowsky stated. We are excited about the possibilities for a single team focused on all aspects of care for the communities served by these facilities.”

Announcement of Additional Changes in RWJBH Leadership Positions or Titles

Organizational Cultural and Patient Experience

Amy B. Mansue – Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer

Legal Services

David Mebane – Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Healthcare Transformation

Eliza Ng, MD, MPH – Chief Medical Officer, Population Health

Physician Services   

Lina Shihabuddin, MD, – Chief Medical Officer, Primary Care, Physician Services

Joshua Bershad, MD, MBA – Executive Vice President, Physician Services

Finance Division

Richard L. Davis – Chief Financial Officer, Northern Region; and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Saint Barnabas Medical Center

Gail Koslya – Chief Financial Officer, Central Region; and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, RWJUH Hamilton

Community and Behavioral Health Division

Gabriel Kaplan, MD, – Chief Medical Officer, Behavioral Health Network

Medical and Quality Division

Suzanne Spernal, DNP, APN-BC, RNC-OB, CBC – Vice President of Women’s Services

Vicente H. Gracias, M.D. FACS, FCCP. FCCM, Interim Chief Academic Officer

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