(St. Louis) September 25, 2009 – Ascension Health has named David E. Erickson as the organization’s first Chief Investment Officer. Ascension Health’s investment performance is fundamental to its stewardship efforts, impacting its ability to acquire the capital needed to meet the organization’s commitments to associates who participate in its pension plan and achieve its mission of serving all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable, according to Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We have recognized that the increasing variety and complexity of financial markets worldwide and our investment portfolio have led to a need for Ascension Health to take a more focused and innovative approach in our investment strategies,” Tersigni said. “Healthcare organizations as a rule have been slow to adopt some of the more proven creative financing techniques available today. Our intention is to take advantage of all the opportunities available to us in a responsible, thougthful way in order to help us achieve our Mission.”
Erickson reports to Anthony J. Speranzo, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and is responsible for the administration, management and coordination of the health system’s investments.
Erickson comes to Ascension Health from the University of Wisconsin Foundation, where as Chief Investment Officer he supervised an investment team that managed over $2.2 billion in assets. His previous experience includes serving as Vice President and Investment Strategist for Strong Capital Management in Wisconsin, and in leadership roles with PNC Bank/PNC Capital Markets in Pennsylvania, Chemical Bank in New York, and Firstar Bank in Wisconsin. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wheaton College, west of Chicago, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
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 last year, is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Our Mission-focused Health Ministries consist of 113,000 associates serving in more than 500 locations in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
(ST. LOUIS) September 25, 2009 – Julius D. Spears, Jr., has agreed to assist Ascension Health’s legislative office in Washington, D.C., to help expand the health system’s presence with congressional and Administration leaders, Ascension Health announced today. Spears will transition from his current role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1. Providence Hospital is one of Ascension Health’s local health ministries.
“The activities currently in progress on Capitol Hill represent the best opportunity ever to achieve 100% access to healthcare and 100% coverage,” said Ascension Health Chief Advocacy Officer Susan Nestor Levy. “Ascension Health is actively involved in the reform process, and Julius will help ensure our ministry’s national voice is heard, working from his healthcare experience in several states and the District of Columbia.”
“Ascension Health thanks Julius for his many contributions through his leadership at Providence Hospital, and is pleased to be able to use his skills in building relationships and his extensive visibility in Washington in this new way,” said Robert J. Henkel, FACHE, President, Healthcare Operations and Chief Operating Officer of Ascension Health.
A national search for Spears’ successor at Providence Hospital will begin immediately. In the interim, Bonnie Phipps, Ascension Health’s Ministry Market Leader for the Baltimore/Washington area, will assume a more active role at Providence Hospital.
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 last year, is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Ascension Health’s Mission-focused Health Ministries consist of 113,000 associates serving in more than 500 locations in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Founded in 1861 by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, Providence Hospital (www.provhosp.org) is a 408-bed community hospital specializing in geriatric care, maternity, behavioral health, oncology, orthopedics, and wellness programs. The hospital’s medical teaching program includes residencies in internal medicine, surgery and family medicine. Chartered by President Abraham Lincoln, Providence Hospital is the longest continuously operating hospital in Washington, D.C.
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.
