Ernest Baptiste is set to become CEO of Stony Brook (N.Y.) University Hospital, part of Stony Brook Medicine, Nov. 27. Baptiste most recently was CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County.

Appointments

  • Leon L. Haley Jr., M.D., has been named CEO of UF Health Jacksonville (Fla.). The appointment comes less than a year after Haley was named dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine–Jacksonville, a position he will continue to hold. Haley will officially assume his new joint role Jan. 1, after current CEO Russ Armistead retires at the end of December.
  • Richard Liekweg will become president and CEO of BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, Jan. 1. Liekweg will succeed Steven H. Lipstein who joined Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 2009 as group president.
  • Stephens Mundy was named CEO and president of Alice Hyde Medical Center, Malone, N.Y., and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, Plattsbugh, N.Y., both part of the University of Vermont Health Network in Burlington. Mundy has been interim CEO for AHMC since May 3.
  • Drew Mason was promoted to CEO of Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., in September. Mason succeeds Keith Granger who was promoted to CHSPSC LLC’s regional president and market CEO for Alabama. Mason was named chief operating officer of the medical center in 2015, having first come to Birmingham as assistant CEO of Trinity Medical Center in 2014.
  • Paula Autry has become CEO for Lutheran Health Network’s Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, Ind. Autry was CEO of Detroit Medical Center’s Sinai-Grace Hospital.
  • Richard Haraldson was named CEO for Beatrice (Neb.) Community Hospital and Health Center and will assume his new role Jan. 1. Haraldson is CEO of Sidney (Mont.) Health Center, where he has served since 2003.
  • Montrose (Colo.) Memorial Hospital Inc. named Cindy Bradley interim CEO for Montrose Memorial Hospital. Bradley takes over for Steve Hannah, M.H.A., who served as CEO since 2014. Bradley will be interim CEO for MMH while the hospital begins a nationwide search for a permanent CEO.

Retirement

  • President and CEO for Conway (S.C.) Medical Center, Philip A. Clayton, will retire Dec. 31 after 37 years of service. Clayton has guided the medical center through three major expansions while maintaining a financially sound organization with more than 1,600 employees and a medical staff comprising more than 200 physicians. Bret Barr, the medical center’s current COO and executive vice president, was named president and CEO effective Jan. 1.


Merger and Acquisitions

  • The Chicago-based Rush health system and Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Centers have signed a nonbinding letter of intent for LCMH to join the Rush system. Under the proposed arrangement, LCMH would remain a Catholic ministry. The potential integration is part of LCMH’s long-term strategy to ensure advanced health care for Chicago’s southwest communities and its future growth. Little Company of Mary Hospital, a 272-bed community hospital with more than 2,000 employees, is in south suburban Evergreen Park, Ill. The proposed integration is subject to further due diligence by both organizations in obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals as they work on a definitive agreement, which is expected to take several months.
  • Tenet Healthcare Corp. has reached a definitive agreement with Loyola Medicine, an affiliate of Trinity Health, under which Loyola will purchase MacNeal Hospital — which is located in Berwyn, a western suburb of Chicago — as well as other operations affiliated with the hospital. The affiliated operations include local Tenet-owned physician practices; the Chicago Health System, an independent practice association of nearly 1,000 physicians; and the associated CHS accountable care organization. Under the terms of the agreement, MacNeal and these related operations will be added to the Loyola Medicine regional health system, which serves the west, south and southwest suburbs of Chicago. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
  • The boards of Bethesda Health and Baptist Health South Florida have signed an agreement to merge with Baptist Health South Florida, Coral Gables, pursuant to a 24-month transition period that culminated Sept. 30. Bethesda Health will remain a hospital system comprising two nonprofit, independent community hospitals: Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West. The name of Bethesda Hospital will remain, and the physical structures that are Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West will remain 100 percent intact. In addition, the management structure of the executive team and the management team of Bethesda Health will remain intact. The merger will allow the organization to expand access to high-quality, compassionate care across south Florida.
  • CoxHealth and Barton County Memorial Hospital have signed a letter of intent for CoxHealth to acquire Barton County Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed critical access facility based in Lamar, Mo. As the plan stands, all of the Barton County hospital employees in good standing will retain their positions for at least one year after the acquisition. There is no plan, however, to cut positions at all. CoxHealth values Barton County’s relationships with its physicians and plans to honor all physician contracts. After signing the letter of intent, a due-diligence period follows that allows the organizations to explore each other’s business practices. It is expected that the plans will be finalized by the end of this year.