RWJBarnabas Health has announced the appointment of Susan C. Reinhard as the chair of the RWJBarnabas Health Board of Trustees, effective July 1. Reinhard will be the first woman and the first nurse to hold this position for the health system.
Reinhard is a founding member of the board and became vice chair in 2022. She has served as chair of the quality and safety committee and participated on the compliance and strategic planning/academic affairs committees. She also served on the board of directors for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital since 2013 and was a member of its finance, strategic planning and quality committees.
Reinhard is a nationally recognized expert in health and long-term care policy, with extensive experience in conducting, directing and translating research into action to promote policy change. Among her credentials, she is a visiting professor for the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators at the University of California, Davis. Prior to that, Reinhard was the senior vice president and director of the AARP Public Policy Institute, the focal point for policy research and analysis in health, long-term care, and economics at the federal, state and international levels.
“I am deeply honored to serve as board chair for the largest academic health system in New Jersey,” said Reinhard.
Reinhard will succeed Lester J. Owens who has served as board chair since 2022. Owens was also a founding member of the board and served as Vice chair from 2019-2022.
James S. Vaccaro, new vice chair, has served as chair of the finance committee for the board and also served as chair of the board for Monmouth Medical Center. Vaccaro is chair, president and chief executive officer of Manasquan Bank.
