RWJBarnabas Health on Tuesday said it welcomed several new hires to reflect the health system’s growth strategies and commitment to enhancing the community’s health
Frank Pipas has been named as executive vice president, chief financial officer, and Balpreet Grewal-Virk, has been named senior vice president, community health. In addition, several executives have transitioned to new roles, including Indu Lew as chief of staff to Mark Manigan, president of RWJBarnabas Health; Robert Adamson as executive vice president and chief information officer; and Robert Pellechio as senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer.
“This is an exciting and pivotal time for RWJBarnabas Health, as each executive brings significant experience and fresh perspectives to their roles,” Manigan stated. “At a time when we are making substantial investments in new programs and facilities, as well as deepening our relationships in the communities we serve, it is critical to convene a team that possesses the expertise and passion necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.”
As executive vice president, chief financial officer for RWJBarnabas Health, Pipas will serve as the most senior finance executive across the system and provide leadership in the achievement of key financial and operational functions. He joins RWJBarnabas Health from Hackensack Meridian Health, where he most recently served as executive vice president of finance since 2018. Pipas first joined that organization in 2002 as director of finance and went on to hold the positions of senior director, vice president and senior vice president.
Grewal-Virk joins RWJBarnabas Health in the newly created role of senior vice president, community health. She will design and execute the strategy for the system’s pilot program grant in Newark — developing an academic health system and Federally Qualified Health Center partnership aimed at providing highly coordinated clinical care and social determinant of health support to Newark residents. She also will form strategic partnerships with FQHCs to increase coordination and access to care in order to reduce health care disparities in vulnerable communities. Grewal-Virk joins RWJBarnabas Health from Hackensack Meridian Health, where she has held a number of community-focused roles since 2015, most recently serving as the vice president, community outreach and engagement, for the HMH Northern Region.
In her new role as chief of staff, Lew will partner with Manigan to drive strategic priorities, streamline important initiatives and organize functionality and process in connection with the administration of his duties and responsibilities. She also will be actively involved with the implementation of RWJBarnabas Health’s new operating model and One System, One Family philosophy. Lew has served in multiple key positions over more than 20 years with RWJBarnabas Health, including chief pharmacy officer, vice president of corporate pharmacy, director of education and research and vice president of IDEAS, a Barnabas Health medical communications company. She also assisted in the expansion of the system’s pharmacy residency programs, as well as integrating pharmacists into the primary care physician’s offices of the Combined Medical Group.
Adamson has been named executive vice president and chief information officer for RWJBarnabas Health. In this role, he is responsible for strategic planning, technology leadership and vision for the health system and enabling information technology initiatives to execute health system strategic imperatives. He is also the operational leader for the Epic Electronic Health Record implementation, overseeing all operational aspects of the Epic implementation and providing strategic direction and overall management of the project.
Pellechio has been named senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer for RWJBarnabas Health. In his new role, Pellechio provides strategic leadership for the 25 divisions within the system’s Pharmacy Enterprise. He has more than 35 years of experience in health care, hospital administration, supply chain and pharmacy. He joined RWJBarnabas Health in 2005 as corporate director of pharmacy, responsible for the daily operations of Innovative Purchasing Concepts, a regional group purchasing organization. He most recently served as corporate vice president of Pharmacy Integrated Services since 2015 and also previously served as corporate vice president of pharmacy operations for seven years.
