Dennis D. Keefe, Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) was recently 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 guide 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. Keefe has worked in academic teaching facilities and community hospitals for over 30 years, serving as CHA’s CEO since 2002. 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.

Dr. Robert Higgins was recently named to lead Ohio State University Medical Center’s solid organ transplant program. The highly respected surgeon is a former president of the United Network for Organ Sharing and comes to Ohio State from Rush University in Chicago. Pending board approval, Higgins will hold the John H. and Mildred C. Lumley Medical Research Chair. The prestigious chair provides funding to a nationally eminent faculty member. Higgins will direct OSU’s comprehensive transplant program, which includes heart, kidney, liver, pancreas and combined kidney/pancreas. He also will lead the division of cardiac surgery. As chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Rush, Higgins led a successful transplant and mechanical assist device program for seven years. He also served as chair of cardiothoracic surgery at the Medical College of Virginia from 1999-2003.

University Medical Center (UMC) in Lafayette, La., part of LSU Health Care Services Division, recently received the HealthGrades 2010/2011 Outstanding Patient Experience Award. UMC is one of only eight hospitals in Louisiana with this recognition, which honors institutions providing the best patient experience in the nation. UMC earned the award because it ranked in the top 10 percent of the 3,775 hospitals that participated in the annual Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey. “The award recognizes the high-quality work of our staff on all levels on a daily basis,” said Larry Dorsey, UMC Hospital Administrator. “Day in and day out, their dedication to their patients, to their profession, and to UMC has resulted in UMC receiving this award. We have an excellent staff.”

Total Artificial Heart pioneer and world renowned heart surgeon Jack Copeland, MD, on July 1 joined the faculty at the new $227 million Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center at the University of California, San Diego. Copeland made medical history in 1979 when he performed Arizona’s first heart transplant, and again in 1985, when he became the first surgeon to successfully use the Jarvik 7 artificial heart as a temporary bridge to transplant. His achievements include advancing surgical technique and patient care protocols, as well as serving as Principal Investigator of the 10-year pivotal clinical study of the Total Artificial Heart. This clinical study produced the highest bridge to transplant rate of all approved mechanical circulatory support devices today (79 percent), and resulted in FDA approval of the Total Artificial Heart in October 2004.

Ricardo Benenstein, MD, an advanced diagnostic cardiac imaging specialist, recently joined the cardiology department of the Nassau University Medical Center, where he will provide his expertise in diagnostic cardiac imaging to NUMC’s vulnerable population. Officials say his focus at NuHealth will be in advanced diagnostic cardiac imaging and he will establish an outpatient practice with special emphasis in echocardiography and cardiac CT. Benenstein is fluent in Spanish and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. He is also certified by the boards of the Society for Cardiovascular CT, National Board of Echocardiography, Advanced Perioperative Transesophageal Echo and Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology.

The chief public health officer for the City of Cambridge – part of the Cambridge Health Alliance – has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Claude-Alix Jacob formally assumed this role in July. Jacob is responsible for managing all aspects of the Cambridge Public Health Department, including public health planning, service delivery, and regulatory activities. He joined the department in 2007. A public health practitioner for more than 15 years, Jacob has served as an administrator at the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Baltimore City Health Department, and the Sinai Health System in Chicago. His work has primarily focused on chronic disease prevention and he was instrumental in launching an innovative men’s health program in Cambridge.

Shands Cancer Hospital – part of Shands Healthcare at the University of Florida – recently became the first hospital in the Southeast to be awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its environmental and energy-efficient features. Only four hospitals in the country currently are Gold LEED certified and fewer than 100 nationwide have LEED certification. LEED is an internationally recognized, third-party certification program for buildings that achieve the highest green building and performance measures. Certification criteria for healthcare facilities also include increased sensitivity to chemicals and pollutants, traveling distances from parking facilities and access to natural spaces. Sustainability focused features of this Hospital include low VOC-emitting paints and other products, solar shading and an independent energy supply.

Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in Brooklyn – part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation – recently earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management for their exemplary efforts to deliver high-quality asthma care that includes environmental controls. Award winners are recognized for demonstrating that comprehensive care with a strong environmental component can dramatically improve health outcomes for people with asthma. Woodhull is one of only five programs in the country to receive the prestigious award this year.

Gretchen McNally, a nurse practitioner on the hematology service at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, has been named “Woman of the Year” by the Central Ohio Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This year marked the first time the local chapter participated in the national fundraising competition, in which participants nationwide competed for the title by raising funds in honor of local children who are blood cancer survivors. McNally and her “G-Force” team of nurses, nurse practitioners, patient care associates, pharmacists and leukemia survivors raised more than $31,000 for the society in just 10 weeks in honor of a local 8-year-old boy who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2006. In total, the nine central Ohio candidates for the award raised more than $160,000 for cancer research and patient services.

The UC Davis Medical Center was recognized for its efforts in promoting diversity at the 2010 National Leadership and Education Center in Chicago. The medical center, which hired a diversity coordinator in 2008, was awarded “Best in Class” for expanding the diversity of the organization’s governance body and leadership team; strengthening a diverse workforce; and delivering culturally and linguistically competent patient care. Hosted by the Institute for Diversity in Health Management, the conference honored hospitals for participating in the “State of Health Care Diversity and Disparities: A Benchmark Study of U.S. Hospitals.” The institute also recognized UC Davis Medical Center for employing “Promising Practices” for its work in another category: “effectively engaging the diverse communities that the organization serves.”

Leroy D. Francis of NuHealth recently earned honors from the Healthcare Leaders of New York (HLNY) and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). Francis, administrator for the departments of surgery, ophthalmology, anesthesiology and project manager for the business development office, received the ACHE Early Careerist Regent’s Award on Wed., June 16, 2010, at the HLNY’s annual gala. HLNY is the local chapter of ACHE and represents professionals who manage the business affairs of healthcare organizations throughout the New York metropolitan area. The ACHE Early Career Executives Regent’s Award recognizes the ACHE affiliates who have significantly contributed toward the advancement of healthcare management excellence and achievement of the goals of ACHE.