Log in

Lawson

Ratliff

Ross

Wiley

Smith

Ferguson

Pierson

PRESIDENTS/CEOS

Organizations within CommonSpirit Health have made these changes:

• Michael S. Lawson to CommonSpirit Health Houston market president, effective Dec. 30. Lawson previously was president of OhioHealth's Grant Medical Center. He succeeds Matt Brown, CommonSpirit senior vice president, operations/transformation, who was interim Houston market president. That market includes eight hospitals in Greater Houston.
• Simon Ratliff to president and CEO of Bakersfield's Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield, California. Ratliff succeeds BJ Predum, who has been named president of Dignity Health California region's Central Valley market. Ratliff most recently was CEO and president of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
• Dr. Douglas Ross to president of Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. He was chief medical officer for CHI St. Vincent System in Arkansas and president of St. Vincent Hot Springs Hospital.
• Donald J. Wiley is retiring as president and CEO of Dignity Health San Joaquin market area, which includes St. Joseph's Medical Center of Stockton, California. He has worked at St. Joseph's for 34 years.

Scott McConnaha is stepping down as president and CEO of the Manitowoc, Wisconsin-based Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Sponsored Ministries effective Dec. 19. Tim Loch, CFO and vice president of finance, will be interim CEO until the organization identifies a permanent replacement.

Shane Smith to president of SSM Health's Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, market, which includes St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac. Smith was vice president of medical group operations for the Fond du Lac Regional Clinic.

Winfield Brown to president of St. Mary's Health System in Lewiston, Maine, and senior vice president of Covenant Health of Andover, Massachusetts. He was interim CEO of Mt. Ascutney Hospital & Health Center, part of Dartmouth Health. In his St. Mary's role, Brown replaces Cindy Segar-Miller who was interim president of St. Mary's. She is transitioning into a new role with the hospital's parent company, Covenant Health. In her new position, she will help guide the strategic direction of the health system and will have oversight of its hospitals.

Harrison Kiser to president of Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West in Nashville, Tennessee. He will retain his role as chief operating officer. The change is effective Dec. 8. Gordon B. Ferguson plans to retire in late June 2025 as president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He has worked at the facility for 26 years. Both hospitals are part of Ascension Saint Thomas.

Brian Pierson to Mount Carmel Grove City president and chief operating officer. He was interim president and chief operating officer. The facility in the Columbus, Ohio, area is part of Trinity Health's Mount Carmel Health System.

The PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center Foundation of Vancouver, Washington, has received a $10 million gift from David and Patricia Nierenberg. This contribution doubles their initial pledge made in 2021, bringing their total commitment to $20 million toward the Healthcare Reimagined Campaign. That campaign has raised more than $54 million that the medical center will use to double the footprint of the emergency department, add a 24-bed observation unit and create a Community Health Hub. That hub will allow community partners to address the nonmedical needs of emergency department patients. David Nierenberg founded Nierenberg Investment Management Company and is portfolio manager of D3 Family Funds.

Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City has received $7.5 million from Herman and LaDonna Meinders to create Oklahoma City's first comprehensive health care center dedicated to digestive health. The Kathryn Ann Meinders Digestive Health Institute is to open on Mercy Hospital's campus in fall 2026. The Meinders' donation is in honor of their daughter Kathryn Ann, who died unexpectedly in 2008 at age 42. Herman and LaDonna Meinders have donated $19 million to Mercy in the last five years. Herman Meinders, who built the Oklahoma City-based flowers-by-wire business American Floral Services, is the largest individual donor to Mercy in Oklahoma.