The New Jersey Hospital Association, the state’s oldest and largest hospital and health care advocacy organization, celebrated its 101st Annual Meeting by installing a new board chair and honoring leaders in the sector with awards, it announced Friday.
At the annual meeting, held Friday at the Hyatt Regency Princeton, St. Joseph’s Health CEO and President Kevin Slavin became chair of the NJHA board, replacing Jefferson Health New Jersey President Joseph Devine.
“We must continue to push ourselves — and our thinking — if we’re going to discover innovative solutions to our most challenging issues,” Slavin said in his remarks at the event. “And, above else, we will continue to use the mission — to improve the health of the people of this state — as the ultimate guide for our decision-making.”
Other board officers installed Friday included: Christian Health Care Center CEO and President Douglas Struyk, as vice chairman; AtlantiCare CEO and President Lori Herndon, as treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee; and St. Mary’s General Hospital CEO and President Edward Condit, as secretary.
New board members include:
- Robert Brenner, president of clinical integration and physician enterprise, Valley Health System;
- Kevin O’Dowd, co-CEO and president, Cooper University Health Care;
- Dennis Pullin, CEO and president, Virtua Health;
- Rita Smith, president, Organization of Nurse Leaders-New Jersey;
- Mark Stauder, chief operating officer, Hackensack Meridian Health;
- Darrell Terry, CEO and president, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center;
- Deborah Visconi, CEO and president, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.
In addition to the installations, the NJHA presented a variety of awards to individuals and organizations in the state.
The NJHA Healthcare Leader Awards recognize the distinguished service of industry executives, trustees and clinicians. This year’s honors included:
- 2020 Distinguished Service Award: John DiAngelo, CEO and president of Inspira Health.
- 2020 Healthcare Professional of the Year: Dr. Meena Murthy, chief of the division of endocrinology, nutrition and metabolism; director of the Thyroid and Diabetes Center; and director of the South Asian Institute at Saint Peter’s University Hospital.
- NJHA Trustee of the Year: Marc Berson, chairman of the corporate board of trustees, RWJBarnabas Health.
- Special Recognition: Richard Keenan, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Valley Health System; and Gordon Litwin, chairman of the Hackensack Meridian Health board of trustees.
The NJHA also presented its Excellence in Quality Improvement Awards to St. Luke’s Warren Campus and Inspira LIFE, and its HRET Community Outreach Awards — with the NJHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey — to Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic (behavioral health resiliency), Virtua Health Foundation (reducing disparities), and Saint Peter’s University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (social determinants of health).
