CHICAGO (June 24, 2014) — Alan R. Yordy, MBA, FACHE, president and chief mission officer, Peace Health,  Vancouver, WA, has been installed as chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) for fiscal year 2014-15.

In an election held during the 2014 Catholic Health Assembly in Chicago, June 22-24, Sr. Judith Ann Karam, CSA, FACHE, congregational leader, Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine in Richfield, Ohio, was chosen vice chairperson/chairperson-elect for fiscal year 2014-15. She will lead the CHA board in fiscal year 2015-16. Sr. Judith Ann is also chair of CSA Health System Ministries, the public juridic person of the Sisters of Charity Health System based in Cleveland.

Elected to three-year terms on the board were:

• M. Estela Reyna Chapa, FACHE, executive vice president and chief operating officer, CHRISTUS Spohn Health System, Corpus Christi, TX (First Term)
• Brian J. D'Arcy, MD, senior vice president, medical affairs and chief medical officer, Catholic Health System, Buffalo, NY (Second Term)
• Julie S. Manas, MHA, president and chief executive officer, Sacred Heart Hospital, and president and chief executive officer, Western Wisconsin Division, Hospital Sisters Health System, Eau Claire, WI (First Term)
• Laurence J. O'Connell, Ph.D., S.T.D., president and chief executive officer, Ministry Leadership Center, Sacramento, CA (Second Term)
• Karen G. Reich, MSW, chief executive officer, Bon Secours St. Petersburg Health System, St. Petersburg, FL (First Term)
• Michael A. Slubowski, FACHE, FACMPE, president and chief executive officer, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System (SCL Health), Denver, CO (First Term)
• Alex Valdez, JD, FACHE, vice president, international advocacy, CHRISTUS, Irving, TX (Second Term)

CHA's board consists of 23 trustees, including Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, CHA president and chief executive officer. In addition, Rhonda E. Mueller, CHA senior vice president, finance and operations, serves as Corporate Treasurer, and Lisa J. Gilden, JD, CHA vice president and general counsel, serves as Corporate Secretary.

The board's role includes developing CHA's strategic direction, ensuring CHA's fidelity to its mission, stewarding CHA's resources and performing other governance activities to support and strengthen the Catholic health ministry in the United States.

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The Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), founded in 1915, supports the Catholic health ministry's commitment to improve the health status of communities and create quality and compassionate health care that works for everyone. The Catholic health ministry is the nat ion's largest group of not-for-profit health systems and facilities that, along with their sponsoring organizations, employ more than 750,000 women and men who deliver services combi ning advanced technology with the Catholic caring tradition.