GBMC HealthCare Announces New President and Chief Executive Officer

Charles C. Fenwick, Jr., Chairman of the GBMC HealthCare Board of Directors, is very pleased to announce that, after a national search, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to appoint John B. Chessare, MD, MPH, FACHE the new President and Chief Executive Officer of GBMC HealthCare. Dr. Chessare will begin this role on June 14, 2010 and succeeds John R. Saunders, Jr., MD, who was interim President and Chief Executive Officer following the resignation of Laurence M. Merlis in January, 2010.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Chessare has accepted the position as President and Chief Executive Officer of GBMC HealthCare,” Mr. Fenwick states. “After a careful review of the candidates, the search committee concluded that Dr. Chessare’s experience and perspective on executive and physician leadership, as well as his vision for the future, aligned well with GBMC’s mission of Health, Healing and Hope.”

“I am thrilled to have been selected the next President and CEO of GBMC HealthCare which has a long established reputation for high quality care in a unique setting. I look forward to the challenge of leading the organization and toward positioning GBMC for continued success in a competitive market and a changing healthcare environment” says Dr. Chessare.

An active and visionary leader in the healthcare field for more than three decades, Dr. Chessare has a proven track record as both a strong leader and highly respected physician. As an executive leader, he has led the clinical and administrative team of organizations toward improvement in health outcomes, patient and staff satisfaction as well as reduced wait times and profit maximization. Clinically, Dr. Chessare began his medical career as a pediatrician. He has been instrumental in a number of quality and performance improvement initiatives, including the implementation of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) and oversight of system-wide clinical quality and patient safety measures.

Dr. Chessare served as president of Caritas Christi Health Care System’s Caritas Norwood Hospital, a 264-bed hospital located just outside of Boston, Mass. from September 2005 through October 2008. In addition to his duties at Norwood, he was the Senior Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety of the entire Caritas system and served as the system’s Interim President from May of 2006 until May of 2008.

In addition to his tenure at Caritas, Dr. Chessare has held several senior level leadership roles at Boston Medical Center and at the Boston University School of Medicine from 1998 to 2005; at Albany Medical Center from 1994 to 1998; and at the Medical College of Ohio from 1983 to 1994.

Most recently, Dr. Chessare has been a consultant working with healthcare organizations to make operational changes to improve patient flow and patient satisfaction while reducing costs. Additionally, he served as faculty for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Institute for Healthcare Optimization in seminars on improving hospital operations.

Dr. Chessare earned his medical degree from the University of Rome in 1979, completed his pediatric residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and attained his Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He and his wife, Tracey, will be relocating to the Baltimore community. They have four children, Michael, Matthew, and twins Patrick and Caroline all of whom attend colleges on the east coast.

Thurgood Marshall Award Winners

Last month at the Third Annual Awards of Excellence of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a present and a past member of the GBMC Board of Directors were honored. Patricia J. Mitchell, vice chair of the GBMC Board of Directors and vice president of Global Sales Operations for IBM Global Technology and former board member, Ackneil M. Muldrow II, CEO Parker Muldrow & Associates LLC, were honored on April 7, 2010. The event was held in Baltimore, the birthplace of Justice Marshall, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, named after one of the nation’s most prominent former executives and alumnus of member university, Virginia State University. The event was hosted by Howard T. Jessamy and Patricia Coats Jessamy and featured Tim Williams from WJC-TV as the master of ceremonies. The evening started with the Morgan State Jazz Combo and Choir.

John Marshall, Justice Marshall’s son, gave the evening’s keynote address. He eloquently discussed the work of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s critical charge to lead the production of our nation’s next leaders. To date, the TMCF has invested more than $100 million in scholarships, programmatic and capacity support and leadership development to the 47 public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) it serves.

The other honorees included the Honorable Brian G. Kim, Associate Justice, Maryland District Court, Ava E. Lias-Booker, Esq., Partner McGuireWoods LLP and Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D. Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Stuart O. Simms, of the GBMC Board of Directors presented Judge Kim for his award.

As recipients of the TGCF came forward to tell the story of their journey, one couldn’t help be impressed with their personal vision and drive. Several recipients were the first members of their families to graduate from college. It was great to see so many members of the GBMC family participating in this event.

Top 100 Women of Maryland

On May 2, 2010 before a full house in the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Daily Record's 15th Annual Top 100 Women Awards was held. GBMC Board of Directors member, Bonnie Stein of PNC Bank and Lauren Schnaper, MD, Medical Director of the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Center were named to this year’s honor. GBMC sponsored the Circle of Excellence winners. These were women who had been named to thte Top 100 Women three times.