MED MOVES: Ascension appoints chief clinical officer, and more

Richard Fogel

Richard Fogel has been named executive vice president and chief clinical officer for Ascension, the large Catholic health system.

With the new post, Fogel joins the Ascension Leadership Team. He’ll report to Joseph R. Impicciche, president and chief executive officer. Ascension operates 143 hospitals and more than 2,600 sites of care.

A practicing staff cardiologist and electrophysiologist, Fogel has led Ascension’s clinical response throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2019, Fogel has served as chief clinical officer for clinical & network services, Ascension, with responsibility for clinical performance across the national health ministry. He has helped lead quality and safety improvements and the development of a system-wide clinical research infrastructure.

“Dr. Fogel’s vast clinical and operational experience and his deep commitment to our Mission of providing compassionate, personalized care to all, especially those who need it most, make him an exceptional addition to the Ascension Leadership Team,” Impicciche said in a statement.

Fogel previously served as chief clinical officer for Ascension Indiana.

He also is past chief executive officer of St. Vincent Medical Group in Indiana and former chair of St. Vincent’s Office of the Chief Medical Officer.

Ascension is seeing another leader depart. Joseph Cacchione, executive vice president, clinical & network services, is leaving Ascension to take over as president and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health in Philadelphia.

• Read more: Joseph Cacchione plans to take Jefferson Health to 'a new level'

Paul Scimeca

Glens Falls Hospital appoints CEO

Paul Scimeca has worked at Glens Falls Hospital for three decades, and now he has in the top spot.

Scimeca has been named the hospital’s president and CEO. He had been serving in an interim capacity since Jan. 1. Scimeca succeeds Dianne Shugrue, who retired in December 2021.

He joined Glens Falls Hospital in 1989 as communications manager, and has taken on leadership experiences throughout his career. In 2015, Scimeca was named senior vice president and chief operating officer. In this role, he led Glens Falls Hospital’s Covid-19 response team. The hospital is part of the Albany Med Health System.

George Ferone, chairman of the hospital’s board of governors, said in a statement that Scimeca was the unanimous choice of the board “for good reason.”

“Over his 33-year career at Glens Falls Hospital, Paul has learned every aspect of our clinical and administrative operations,” Ferone said. “He is respected and admired not only for the depth and breadth of his health care knowledge, but also for his commitment to the Glens Falls Hospital teams he leads, and the communities they serve.”

Matthew Merrifield

Aiken Regional Medical Centers selects new CEO

Matthew Merrifield has been named the new chief executive officer of Aiken Regional Medical Centers in South Carolina, and it’s a sort of homecoming.

Merrifield previously served as chief operating officer of Aiken Regional for four years, but left to become COO of Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, a Universal Health Services facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. He held that post for two years.

Now, he’s back to lead Aiken Regional Medical Centers, a 273-bed acute care hospital. He started as CEO on Aug. 15.

“I’m excited to rejoin the Aiken Regional team and return to the Aiken Community,” Merrifield said in a statement.

“I look forward to building upon the expansion and achievements the team has accomplished in the past few years as we continue to focus on patient-centered care and expanding services and programs throughout Aiken and our surrounding communities.”

Merrifield succeeds Jim O’Loughlin, who is retiring from Aiken Regional Medical Centers. O’Loughlin has served as CEO since 2019. He’ll stay on until September to work with Merrifield and assist in the transition.

Nana Deeb

Palmdale Regional Medical Center hires new CEO

Nana Deeb has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Palmdale Regional Medical Center in California.

Palmdale, a 184-bed acute care hospital, serves communities in the Antelope Valley.

Deeb possesses more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. For the past two years, she has served as CEO of San Gabriel Valley Medical-AHMC HealthCare in southern California.

“I am excited to join the Palmdale Regional family,” Deeb said in a statement. “It is with the greatest pride that we lead in our commitment to providing our patients and our community with the most compassionate and uncompromising standards. We are dedicated to continuing our quest to achieve Excellence in Care.”

Deeb previously served as senior vice president of operations at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California. Earlier in her career, Deeb was the chief operating officer at CommonSpirit Health, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Rebecca Segal

Fauquier Health hires new CEO

Rebecca Segal is joining Fauquier Health in northern Virginia as the organization’s new chief executive officer.

Segal takes the post on September 6. She has served as CEO at Rutherford Regional Health System, a Duke LifePoint facility in Rutherfordton, N.C., since 2017.

She replaces Tony Young, who has been serving as Fauquier’ interim CEO for the past several months.

“I look forward to joining Fauquier Health and to serving the employees, patients and community in Warrenton,” Segal said in a statement. “Being from Virginia, coming to Fauquier is a homecoming for me and I am excited to get to know the team and work towards advancing the care and services we provide here and fulfilling our mission of Making Communities Healthier.”

Steve Wojcik, chair of Fauquier Health’s board of trustees, said in a statement that Segal is “a proven leader with the skill set to lead Fauquier Health and expand the services and quality care provided to our region.

Previously, Segal served as chief operating officer of Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, a LifePoint Health facility in Somerset, Ky. She has spent 21 years in the healthcare industry, holding posts at other LifePoint facilities in Virginia and West Virginia.

Caitlin Krause

Tripp names new wellness officer

Caitlin Krause has been named the chief wellness officer of TRIPP, a firm that aims to develop the “mindful metaverse.”

Krause brings two decades of experience in XR development and digital wellbeing  to TRIPP. In her new role, the company said she will design “next-gen virtual experiences.”

“As an experience designer for the metaverse, I guide leaders to leverage virtual reality and immersive storytelling as a tool to form better human-centered relationships, improve well-being, and spark imagination,” Krause said in a statement.

“Given the synchronicity of my work with TRIPP’s mission to deepen connection to self, facilitate mental wellness, and enable personal and collective transformation, I felt driven to join TRIPP’s team and reach even more virtual communities through their XR platform.”

Krause founded the XR studio, MindWise, and teaches digital wellbeing and XR at Stanford University.

Nanea Reeves, CEO and co-founder of TRIPP, said Krause “has a powerful and unparalleled voice in the XR community, one that we’re honored to now have at TRIPP.”