Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1482786
32 CEO / STRATEGY CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center joins CVS Health board By Molly Gamble J effrey Balser, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Vanderbilt Uni- versity Medical Center, has been appointed to serve on the board of CVS Health, effective immediately. Dr. Balser has also been named to the board's medical affairs com- mittee. "Dr. Balser's extensive experience in a wide range of roles across healthcare organizations will be an invaluable asset for the Board," CVS Health President and CEO Karen Lynch said in the news release. "His deep clinical expertise and leadership of a prestigious health sys- tem gives him the insight to help support our strategy to serve con- sumers and meet their health needs differently." In addition to his role as CEO of VUMC, which he's held since 2009, Dr. Balser has also served as dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine since 2008. Before then, he served as VUMC's chief re- search officer and chaired its department of anesthesiology. Prior to his time with VUMC, Dr. Balser was a faculty member with Johns Hopkins Medicine, where he practiced cardiac anesthesiology and ICU medicine. He completed his internship, residency training in anesthesiology, and fellowship training in cardiac anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Balser's appointment means the size of the board stands at 12 di- rectors aer it had fallen to 11 directors this spring with the retire- ment of two members. n UChicago Medicine to acquire controlling stake in 4 AdventHealth hospitals By Ayla Ellison U niversity of Chicago Medicine and AdventHealth have inked a definitive agreement to enter into an affiliation. Under the agreement, UChicago Medicine will acquire a controlling interest in AdventHealth's Great Lakes Region, which includes four Illinois hospitals, and AdventHealth will retain the remaining interest and manage daily operations of the facilities. "Joining UChicago Medicine will allow us to further our mission and enhance our ability to deliver high-quality, whole-person care to more people in the communities served in the greater Chicago area," AdventHealth President and CEO Terry Shaw said in a Sept. 13 news release. The proposed transaction requires regulatory approvals. Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth and UChicago Medicine said the transaction is expected to close at the end of this year or in early 2023. The four Illinois hospitals that make up AdventHealth's Great Lakes Region are in Bolingbrook, Glendale Heights, Hinsdale and LaGrange. "We are excited to be in a position to offer enhanced services to patients who live in the western suburbs by bringing UChicago Medicine's clinical innovations and highly specialized care to the Great Lakes Region hospitals while maintaining AdventHealth's historical commitment to convenient access to high-quality, community-based care," Tom Jackiewicz, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center and COO of UChicago Medicine, said in the news release. n Michigan health system merges with Trinity Health By Ayla Ellison G rand Haven, Mich.-based North Ottawa Community Health System will join Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health on Oct. 1. The health system will be renamed Trinity Health Grand Haven and be part of Trinity Health Michigan. "This is an exciting day for Grand Haven and the lakeshore because it signifies the start of a new era of access to great local care well into the future," Trinity Health Michigan President and CEO Rob Casalou said in a Sept. 20 news release. "We are confident that with our history of serving together, we can continue to advance the choices available for high-quality specialty and primary care. We are looking forward to preserving a strong local health care presence as an integrated health system." North Ottawa Community Health includes an 81-bed hospital, long-term care facility, urgent care center and physician practices. The health system also offers hospice and palliative care services. n