AHA Names New Trustees to the Board

WASHINGTON (August 9, 2024) – The American Hospital Association (AHA) has elected eight members to its Board of Trustees for terms beginning Jan. 1, 2025. The Board of Trustees is the highest policymaking body of the AHA and has ultimate authority for the governance and management of its directions and finances.

In addition, Michael Ugwueke, president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, Tenn., will join the AHA Board immediately filling an unexpired term that extends through 2026.

Six of those elected are new to the AHA Board of Trustees:

Joan Coffman, president and CEO of St. Tammany Health System in Covington, La. starts a three-year term on Jan. 1, 2025.

Coffman has been the CEO of St. Tammany Health System since 2018. She has a demonstrated track record of providing results in improving quality, safety, patient experience and overall operating performance.

Coffman serves as a delegate of the AHA Regional Policy Board 7 and was the 2018 Chair of the AHA’s Rural Health Services Committee.

Prior to joining St. Tammany Health System, Coffman served as the president and CEO of St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur, Ill., part of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS). She also served as president and CEO of HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls, Wis.

Coffman serves in a variety of board positions including on the Louisiana Hospital Association Board of Trustees, as chair of the Board for Vizient Southern States, Vice Chair for St. Tammany Economic Development Corporation and on the Northshore Business Council Executive Committee.

Coffman received a bachelor of science degree in health arts from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill., and a master’s in business administration degree from the University of New Orleans.

Leslie (Les) Hirsch, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System in New Brunswick, N.J. starts a three-year term on Jan. 1, 2025.

Hirsch has served as president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System since 2017, having initially joined the organization as president in 2015.

Prior to joining Saint Peter’s, Hirsch served as president and CEO for seven years at Saint Clare’s Health System in Denville, N.J. He previously served as president and CEO of Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, starting in August 2005, just one week before New Orleans took a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina. Before joining Touro, Hirsch served as president and CEO of Exempla-Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver as well as president and CEO of the Cooper Health System in Camden, N.J.

Hirsch has been active with AHA for many years having served several terms as a delegate on Regional Policy Board 2 and will become Chair of RPB 2 effective January 1, 2025. He also previously served on RPB 7 and the Metropolitan Hospital Council.

Hirsch serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the Middlesex County Crime Stoppers Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of the Hope Through Education Foundation. In addition, he served as chairman of the Board of the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) for two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016, and currently serves as chair of its HealthPAC board of directors. He is the recipient of numerous awards and recognition including having received Distinguished Service Awards from both the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)-New Jersey chapter and NJHA.

Hirsch earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J, and a master of public administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J. He has been a fellow of the ACHE for over 30 years.

Philip Ozuah, MD, president and CEO of Montefiore Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. fills a one-year unexpired term starting on Jan 1., 2025.

Ozuah leads Montefiore Medicine’s 13 member hospitals, which includes 10,000 physicians and 53,000 employees serving a diverse group of patients. In addition, Ozuah has served as chairman of pediatrics for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Ozuah was a member of AHA’s Health Systems Committee from 2020-2024, chairing the committee in 2023, and was a member of the AHA Task Force on Primary Care in 2021. 

He has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the top physician executives in the country. He has also been recognized for excellence in patient care and medical education, including as an inductee into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

Ozuah earned his medical degree from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, and a master’s degree in education from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He holds a doctorate in educational leadership and administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association in Okemos, Mich. starts a three-year term on Jan. 1, 2025.

Peters has been with the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) for 34 years serving as CEO as well as previous stints as executive vice president and senior vice president of advocacy.

Peters has been involved with various roles at the AHA, as a former member of Regional Policy Board 5, and is a past chairman of the AHA State Issues Forum, a former member of the AHA Committee on Nominations and a former member of the AHAPAC Steering Committee. 

Peters served as an advisor and member of the Michigan Economic Recovery Council, a council of senior health and business leaders, formed to provide guidance to Governor Gretchen Whitmer during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Peters was appointed by Governor Whitmer to serve on the Michigan 2020 Census Complete Count Committee.

He has served as a member of the Detroit Metropolitan Convention and Visitors’ Bureau Medical Meetings Advisory Committee, the Coverys Insurance Services Michigan Advisory Board, and the Alliance for Advancing Nonprofit Healthcare Board.

Peters earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., and a master’s of health services administration degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Lisa Shannon, president and CEO of Allina Health in Minneapolis, Minn. starts a three-year term on Jan. 1, 2025.

Shannon became president and CEO of Allina Health in January of 2022. Prior to her appointment as CEO, Shannon served as president and COO, helping Allina Health to deliver expert, quality, affordable care to communities in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

Previously, Shannon was the president and COO of KentuckyOne Health, the largest integrated health system in Kentucky. She also served in several executive leadership roles at Spectrum Health (now Corewell Health) in Grand Rapids, Mich. and OhioHealth in Columbus, Ohio.

Shannon has served as a member of AHA’s Health Systems Committee since 2023.

Shannon has been named among Becker’s Hospital Review CEO Influencers to Know 2023, Modern Healthcare Top Women Leaders in Healthcare 2023 and Twin Cities Business Magazine 100 People to Know 2022. She currently serves on the Board of Greater Twin Cities United Way and the Minnesota Business Partnership. She is a member of the Minnesota MedTech 3.0 Executive Council, Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable and The Itasca Project.

Robert Vissers, MD, president and CEO of Boulder Community Health in Boulder, Colo. starts a three-year term on Jan. 1, 2025.

Vissers joined Boulder Community Health in 2014 as COO before becoming President and CEO in 2015. During his time at Boulder Community Health, Vissers has focused on creating efficiency and innovation to drive value in health care and improve the patient experience.

Vissers serves as a delegate on the AHA’s Regional Policy Board 9. He contributes to many local and national organizations, including as chairperson for Vizient’s Community Based Independent Hospital (CBIH) network of more than 100 independent hospitals nationwide. Vissers has also held various leadership roles with the Colorado Hospital Association board of trustees, including as chairperson in 2022.

Previously, Vissers served as a medical director and associate CMO for Legacy Health in Portland, Ore., and was president and CEO of Northwest Acute Care Specialists.

Vissers’ leadership is grounded in 25 years of front-line practice in emergency medicine. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado and faculty for the University of Colorado Executive Health Care MBA program.  He has been clinical faculty at Harvard University, University of North Carolina and Oregon Health Sciences University.

Vissers earned his medical degree from the University of Western Ontario, completed a residency program in emergency medicine at the University of British Columbia and earned his master’s in business administration degree from Oregon Health and Science University/Portland State University.

The Board also elected two Board members currently filling unexpired terms to full three-year terms starting Jan. 1, 2025:

Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D. joined the Board in Jan. 2024 filling an unexpired term. 

Gassen has been the president and CEO of Sanford Health since November 2020. He previously served as the chief administrative officer, corporate counsel and chief human resources officer for the organization.

Gassen has presided over transformational growth: In 2021, the health system unveiled a $350 million virtual care initiative to improve access to convenient, high-quality care for rural, underserved communities. That same year, Sanford Health announced plans to add eight new graduate medical residencies and fellowships in specialty areas, for a total of 15 programs, to build the next generation of rural health care providers.

In 2022 and 2023, Gassen was recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. Gassen also serves on the board of directors for Oscar Health.

Gassen is a former healthcare litigator and current member of the State Bar of South Dakota. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a law degree, both from the University of South Dakota.

Gassen is a member of AHA’s Health Systems Committee and served as a member of the AHA Taskforce on the Changing Workforce from 2019-2021.

Joseph Impicciche, chief executive officer of Ascension in St. Louis, Mo. joined the Board in Feb. 2023, filling an unexpired term.

Impicciche leads Ascension, one of the nation’s largest Catholic health systems, comprising 140 hospitals in 18 states with nearly 134,000 associates and 35,000 affiliated providers.

Prior to becoming president and CEO in 2019, Impicciche served as president and chief operating officer, as well as executive vice president and general counsel for Ascension since 2004. Throughout his tenure at Ascension, he has advocated for greater access to care, addressed gun violence as a public health issue, promoted health equity and racial justice, reduced drug costs, and leveraged technology for health care innovation. 

Impicciche has contributed significantly to the AHA, serving on the Committee on Health Care Strategy and Innovation from 2020-2023. He was also a member of the Strategic Leadership Group on Provider-led Health Plans from 2016-2018 and served on the Task Force on Health Care Liability Reform from 2005-2006.

An active community leader, Impicciche serves as chairperson of the Catholic Health Association of the United States’ (CHA) Board of Trustees, as well as holds board positions with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul National Foundation, and the Catholic University of America. In recognition of his outstanding career achievements, he received the Clarence A. Jackson Distinguished Career Achievement Award in 2021 from his alma mater, Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.

Impicciche earned a juris doctorate from Indiana University School of Law, a master’s degree in health administration from Indiana University, and a bachelor's degree from Wabash College.

Finally, the Board elected Michael Ugwueke, president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, Tenn. to fill an unexpired term starting immediately and expiring December 31, 2026.

Ugwueke has served as president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare’s six-hospital integrated system since 2017. He previously held the role of president and COO for three years.

Under his leadership, MLH achieved top decile performance and distinction as the “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare” (Becker’s), “Best Regional Hospital” (US News & World Report) and “Best Employers for Diversity” (Forbes). Ugwueke was named to Modern Healthcare’s 2020 “Top 25 Minority Executives in the Nation,” and honored with the Baldrige Foundation’s “Harry S. Hertz Leadership Award,” and the Tennessee Hospital Association’s “CEO of Distinction” in 2021. 

Ugwueke serves on several boards, including the University of Tennessee Health Science Advisory Board, the Memphis Medical District Collaborative, the Tennessee Business Leadership Council, the National Civil Rights Museum and the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank Board of Directors.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., a master’s in public health from Emory University in Atlanta, and a doctor of health administration and leadership degree from the Medical University of South Carolina.

###

About the American Hospital Association (AHA)

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners – including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers – and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides insight and education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.