Intermountain Health names Nannette Berensen as COO
Nannette Berensen has been named chief operating officer of Intermountain Health, overseeing operations across the organization.
Berensen previously worked at Intermountain Health as a phlebotomist while attending college. After working in various roles at other organizations, she returned to Intermountain in 2006 as director of pharmacy services for Intermountain Medical Center. She has held other leadership roles at Intermountain, most recently serving as vice president and chief operating officer of Clinical Shared Services.
While not at Intermountain, Berensen was an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) College of Pharmacy and director of the MUSC Drug Information Center. Intermountain Health is a nonprofit healthcare system based in Salt Lake City.
“I am honored, humbled, and excited to serve as COO,” Berensen said in a statement. “I am passionate about what Intermountain Health stands for as an organization and so grateful for the work our 60,000 caregivers engage in every day to make a difference in peoples’ lives and to serve our communities well. There are formidable challenges facing healthcare that will require the collective wisdom and efforts of all of us to position Intermountain Health for future success. I am confident that by working together, we will be successful.”
Cleveland Clinic names CFO
Cleveland Clinic has appointed Dennis L. Laraway as its chief financial officer, effective March 13. He succeeds Tony Helton, who has served as Cleveland Clinic’s interim CFO since May 2022. With Laraway on board, Helton will return to his previous role as executive director of revenue cycle management with Cleveland Clinic.
Laraway has served as executive vice president and Chief Financial Officer at Banner Health since 2017. Banner Health, a $12 billion health system based in Phoenix, is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit nonprofit health systems, operating 32 hospitals across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming.
He has also served as CFO of several other companies, including Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston; Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas; St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center in Phoenix; and Seton Health System, formerly a member of Ascension Health, in Troy, New York.
Southwest Health System CEO resigns
Jeanine Gentry has resigned from her role as CEO of Southwest Health System, the operating arm of Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez, Colorado. She has served as CEO since January 2022.
David Faulkner will serve as interim CEO, beginning Feb. 2. This role was confirmed by the SHS board of directors, along with Community Hospital Consulting. The news was first reported by The Journal. Faulkner most recently served as interim CEO for Montrose Regional Health, Montrose for nearly a year.
“Faulkner has decades of executive health care experience and insight across operations, strategic planning, practice management, contract negotiations and revenue enhancement,” SHS said in a statement to The Journal.
According to the news outlet, details of Gentry’s exit from her CEO role were not available, though Montezuma County Hospital District board chair Dean Mathews told The Journal Gentry’s resignation came as a surprise.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."