TO:         St. Joseph’s Health and St. Peter’s Health Partners Colleagues and Providers

FROM:   James K. Reed, MD, President & Chief Executive Officer, St. Peter’s Health Partners
Steven D. Hanks, MD, MMM, FACP, FFSMB, Chief Clinical Officer & Chief Operating Officer, St. Peter’s Health Partners
Leslie Paul Luke, President & Chief Executive Officer, St. Joseph’s Health

 

Please see this important message from Trinity Health Chief Operating Officer Ben Carter:

Dear Colleagues and Providers,

As you know, the pandemic and its impact on the global economy has changed the business of healthcare. While we expected and planned for the changes a global pandemic would bring, the negative impact and lasting effects are much greater than anyone imagined. Nationwide, hospitals are experiencing broad shifts in patient volumes, staffing challenges including high-cost agency contracts and increasing supply and pharmacy costs. We, too, need to change for our ministries to remain successful and continue our Mission of caring for the many communities who depend on us.

In response we have decided to create ONE regional ministry that will solidify and augment our presence in the New York region. By combining the strengths of St. Peter’s Health Partners in Albany and St. Joseph’s Health in Syracuse, we will benefit from synergies, clinical coordination of care for our patients and communities, and create a more efficient, cost-effective and integrated health system. This is an important step to ensure the long legacies of St. Peter’s and St. Joe’s services will endure in serving our communities. Our focus will be to develop the strongest clinical programs and improve patient access to these programs.

Of necessity, a restructured leadership team will lead us into the future. Dr. Jim Reed, current President & CEO of St. Peter’s, will become President & CEO of the new regional entity and lead strategic planning for the region over the next six months with plans to retire at the end of December 2022. Dr. Steven Hanks, current Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Operating Officer of St. Peter’s, will serve as Chief Operating Officer during this six-month planning period before assuming the role of system President and CEO of the region when Dr. Reed retires.

Our combined leadership team will include the following executives and their respective department leaders representing both St. Peter’s and St. Joe’s ministries. These leaders will be responsible for the careful integration of administrative teams from both ministries to create a unified structure.

 

As of July 1, 2022, the following leaders will report to Dr. Reed:

Laurel Baum, Chief Integrity & Compliance Officer

Katherine DeRosa, Chief Mission Officer & Vice President, Community Health & Well-Being

Katy Hoffman, Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer

Vincent Kuss, Vice President, Development, St. Joe’s

Mark Murphy, Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer
Jamie Arnold, Director, Marketing and Communications

Tom Robert, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Chuck Fennell, Chief Information Officer, NY

Peter Semenza, Vice President, Philanthropy, St. Peter’s

Robert Swidler, Esq., General Counsel

 

As of July 1, 2022, the following leaders will report to Dr. Hanks:

Philip Falcone, Chief Clinical Officer
Julianne Himes, Senior Vice President, Operations, Medical Group, Syracuse
Stephanie Johnson, VP, Quality and Risk Management
Kristen Mucitelli, Vice President, Population Health and Clinically Integrated Network

Michael Finegan, Executive Vice President, Hospital Operations, Albany and Statewide
Kim Baker, Senior Vice President, Hospital Operations, Schenectady
Annmarie Czyz, Senior Vice President, Hospital Operations, Rome
Meredith Price, Senior Vice President, Hospital Operations, Syracuse

Michelle Mazzaco, Interim EVP, Continuing Care

Kellie Valenti, Executive Vice President, Medical Group, Albany

With the restructure we find ourselves having to make very difficult but necessary decisions including the elimination of positions including the following:

St. Peter’s

Leslie Barden, Chief Strategy Officer, St. Peter’s & CEO, IHANY

Dr. Matt Miles, Chief Medical Officer, IHANY

John Demers, Director, Corporate Communications, St. Peter’s

St. Joseph’s

Deb Welch, Vice President, Mission, St. Joe’s

We wish to thank these leaders for their dedication and service to their ministries. Severance packages and outplacement services will be provided to all eligible colleagues and leaders to assist them in their transition. We value the lasting contributions of colleagues affected by these transitions, and we will focus on our Core Value of Reverence as we move through this process.

In addition, Les Luke, President and CEO of St Joe’s, who has been an extraordinary, bold and courageous leader, and a principal architect of this regional consolidation and organization design, has voluntarily elected to leave the organization after a transitional period to assure smooth handoffs, and solid footing of the new region going forward.

As we work to transform and create the new regional ministry in New York, we should remember who we are, the Mission that drives us and the values we live by. The work we have in front of us is critical and will require focused attention on long-term growth. Thank you for your continued dedication and service to patients in our region.

We wish all our transitioning colleagues and new regional leaders the best of luck and good health.

Sincerely,
Benjamin R. Carter
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Trinity Health