News from Cambridge Health Alliance
July 6, 2010
Cambridge Health Alliance CEO Dennis Keefe Named
Chair of the Massachusetts Hospital Association Board of Trustees
Cambridge, MA…Dennis D. Keefe, Chief Executive Officer of
Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), a Harvard-affiliated public healthcare
system that serves Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston's Metro-North
region, has been named the 70th Chair of the Massachusetts Hospital
Association (MHA) Board of Trustees. He succeeds Ellen Zane, CEO
of Tufts Medical Center, who held the one-year post from June 2009.
Keefe will be instrumental in guiding MHA in its mission to advance
the health of individuals and communities throughout the state by
serving as the leading voice for all Massachusetts hospitals and
healthcare systems. In his inaugural speech at MHA's recent annual
meeting in Chatham, he stressed the importance of payment reform
but advised a transparent and thoughtful approach that will preclude
a "greater loss of jobs and negative financial impacts on providers."
Additionally, Keefe encouraged hospitals to place a greater focus
on wellness, particularly among its own employees. "Given the
high cost of disease related to obesity and smoking alone, hospitals,
as one of the state's largest employers, can surely have more impact
to bend that curve," he added.
Keefe has worked in academic teaching facilities and community
hospitals for over 30 years, serving as Cambridge Health Alliance's
CEO since 2002. Prior to that, he was CHA's Chief Operating Officer.
He sits on the executive committee of the National Association of
Public Hospitals and Health Systems and currently is Board Chair
of the National Public Health and Hospital Institute. In 2008, he
was honored with a lifetime achievement award from Health Care for
All for his efforts to improve access to medical care in Massachusetts
and, in 2009, received the American College of Healthcare Executives'
Massachusetts Healthcare Executive of the Year Award.
Keefe received both his bachelor's degree and his master's degree
in business administration from Northeastern University. He was
named Northeastern's Alumnus of the Year in 2005.
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