AHA NAMES NEW TRUSTEES TO THE BOARD

Washington (July, 22 2020) – The American Hospital Association has elected eight new members to its Board of Trustees for three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The Board of Trustees is the highest policymaking body of the AHA and has ultimate authority for the governance and management of its directions and finances.

Incoming members of the AHA Board of Trustees include:

Mary Beth Kingston, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, chief nurse officer at Advocate Aurora Health in Milwaukee, Wis. and Downers Grove, IL. Advocate Aurora Health is the 10^th largest not-for-profit, integrated health system in the United States, with more than 22,000 nurses and the region’s largest employed medical staff.

Prior to joining Advocate Aurora Health, Kingston was vice president and chief nurse executive at Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia, a system with 1,000 beds and 8,700 employees.

Kingston has served on the board of directors of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, an AHA affiliate with more than 10,000 nurse leaders, since 2014 and served as president of the board in 2019. She also has served as a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders and currently serves on the board of the Milwaukee Urban League. She is co-chair of the Subcommittee for Workplace Safety for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement National Steering Committee on Patient Safety and a member of the Nurse Executive Council for the Beryl Institute.

Kingston earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing at West Chester University, a master’s degree in nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in health policy at the University of Sciences in Philadelphia.

Janice E. Nevin, MD, MPH, president and CEO of ChristianaCare, Wilmington, Del., a not-for-profit teaching health system with more than 13,400 employees. Under Dr. Nevin’s leadership, ChristianaCare developed CareVio, a unique data-driven virtual care platform to proactively address patients’ social and behavioral health needs in addition to their medical needs. Nevin led ChristianaCare to become a founding partner in eBrightHealth, a first-of-its-kind alliance in Delaware of health systems and hospitals to increase access to health care services and improve the quality and affordability of care. She also led the development of eBrightHealth ACO, an accountable care organization to improve care coordination, clinical quality and value in Delaware and the region. Prior to assuming the role of president and CEO, Nevin held several other leadership roles at ChristianaCare including chief medical officer and chief patient safety officer, chief academic officer and chair of the department of family and community medicine.

Nevin is a member of the AHA Committee on Health Care Strategy and Innovation and is a delegate to Regional Policy Board (RPB) 3. She is a member of the board of directors of the Delaware Healthcare Association and served as chair from 2017 – 2019. She is also a member of the board of directors of America’s Essential Hospitals.

Nevin graduated from Harvard University and earned her medical degree with honors from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, where she is currently a professor. She completed her family medicine residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and her Master of Public Health degree at the University of Pittsburgh.

Jim Prister, President and CEO of RML Specialty Hospital, located in Chicago and Hinsdale, IL. RML Specialty Hospital is a partnership between Loyola University Medical Center and Advocate Aurora Health serving patients with catastrophic or acute illnesses complicated by multiple medical issues.

Prior to joining RML, Prister served as COO and acting CEO at Suburban Hospital (in Washington?) and as president of the Ventilator Support Center.

Prister is chair of AHA’s Post-Acute Care Steering Committee and previously served on AHA’s Long-term Care and Rehabilitation Council. He also is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Long Term Hospitals.

Prister earned a bachelor’s degree from Albion College and a master’s in health administration from the University of Michigan. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Nicholas R. Tejeda, Group CEO of The Hospitals of Providence in El Paso, Texas. In addition to this role, Tejeda serves as CEO for The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus and Providence Children’s Hospital.  An entity of Tenet Healthcare, The Hospital of Providence is an integrated healthcare system that consists of over 60 access points across the El Paso community. Before coming to El Paso – the largest bi-national metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere - Tejeda served as CEO of the Doctor’s Hospital of Manteca and COO of Twin Cities Community Hospital.

Tejeda is a member of the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity board and served as chair in 2018 and 2019. He also served as a delegate for Regional Policy Board 7. He is a member of the board of directors for the FEMAP Foundation, a bi-national charity organization that addresses mutual economic needs and public health concerns on the U.S./Mexico border, and the advisory board for the Department of Health Policy & Management at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Tejeda received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Wichita State University and his Master’s Degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Warner L. Thomas, president and CEO of Ochsner Health, New Orleans. Ochsner is the largest not-for-profit academic, multi-specialty health system in the state and encompasses 40 owned, managed or affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals. Prior to his current role, Thomas served as COO of Ochsner and COO of Ochsner Clinic Foundation.

Previously, Thomas served as president of Foundation Medical Partners at Southern New Hampshire Medical System and vice president of managed care and network development, among other executive roles, at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center.

Thomas is a member of the Louisiana Hospital Association board of directors, a former member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges Advisory Panel for Healthcare.

Thomas earned his bachelor’s degree from New Hampshire College and a master’s in business administration from Boston University.

Douglas S. Brown, president of community hospitals and chief administrative officer at UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc., in Worcester, Mass. UMass Memorial is an integrated health care delivery system with an academic medical center, two community hospitals, a large physician group practice and more than 14,000 employees.

Brown served as a member of the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Hospital Association and currently serves as a member of its finance committee and “Caring for the Caregiver” Taskforce.  He was a member of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Advisory Task Force on Community Benefits and currently leads UMass Memorial’s anchor mission initiative, designed to strategically leverage the organization’s assets in the areas of investment, purchasing and hiring in order to address pervasive inequality in the community. Brown is a delegate to RPB 1, and as an AHA Board member, he will chair this RPB.

Brown earned his bachelor’s degree and his juris doctor at Boston University.

D. Montez Carter, PharmD, MBA, FACHE, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Health Care System in Athens, Ga. St. Mary’s is a not-for-profit health care system with three hospitals and more than 2,300 employees.

Carter served on the Georgia Hospital Association board of trustees and was its chair in 2018. He is co-chair of the board of directors of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, on which he has served since 2018, and he is a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals. Previously a delegate to RPB 4, Carter will chair this RPB as an AHA Board member.

Carter earned his doctoral degree in pharmacy from the University of Mississippi and his master’s in business administration from the University of Alabama.

Bruce White, CEO of Knox Community Hospital, a community-owned, not-for-profit hospital managed by Quorum Health Resources in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Since he joined the organization in 1996, White has held numerous leadership roles including assistant administrator, vice president of support and ancillary services and director of information services.

White has been a member of the Ohio Hospital Association board of trustees and served as chair in 2018. He currently serves as secretary/treasurer on the board of the Ohio Hospital Association Institute for Health Innovation. A current Regional Policy Board 5 delegate, White will chair this RPB as an AHA Board member.

White holds a bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University, a master’s in business administration in operational excellence from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and a master’s in business administration in health care management from the University of Dallas.

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Contact:        Marie Johnson, mjohnson@aha.org
                     Colin Milligan, cmilligan@aha.org