ST. LOUIS) September 8, 2009 – Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, President and CEO of Ascension Health, has been named to Modern Healthcare’s 2009 list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare. The list, announced in the August 24 edition of the publication, ranks Tersigni (No. 63) among the country’s most influential individuals in the healthcare industry.
This is the fifth consecutive year for Tersigni to be included in the Modern Healthcare ranking. As President and CEO of the largest Catholic and nonprofit healthcare system in the United States, Tersigni leads Ascension Health’s efforts to improve access and coverage for all Americans. He also serves as chair-elect of the Catholic Health Association and is a member of the Health CEOs for Health Reform (HC4HR) coalition. Sister Carol Keehan, DC, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association was named as one of Modern Healthcare’s 2009 list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.
President Barack Obama tops this year’s list, followed by many of the key players in healthcare reform efforts. Tersigni joins individuals such as HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, Senate Finance Committee leaders Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. The list also features association executives, consumer advocates and lobbyists, and the leaders of some of the largest healthcare systems in the nation.
Tersigni has served as President and CEO of Ascension Health since 2004. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he served as Ascension Health’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and as President and Chief Executive Officer of St. John Health, Detroit, Ascension Health’s largest integrated health system. He’s held senior leadership positions for numerous other healthcare organizations, including the Sisters of St. Joseph Health System, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Sisters of Charity Health Care Systems, Cincinnati; the Detroit Medical Center, Detroit; and Hospital Corporation of America, Nashville, Tenn.
Modern Healthcare readers nominated 25,700 candidates for consideration for the 2009 100 Most Powerful list, a 76 percent increase from 2008. The final ballot included 301 nominees and nearly half a million votes were cast to determine the final 100.
Ascension Health is transforming healthcare by providing the highest quality care to all, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Ascension Health, which provided $868 million in care of persons who are poor and community benefit in FY09, is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Our Mission-focused Health Ministries consist of 107,000 associates serving in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
