This roundup will be published monthly. It is meant to highlight some of healthcare’s recent hiring news and is not intended to be comprehensive. If you have news about an executive appointment, resignation or layoff that you would like to share for this roundup or the MedCity Moves podcast, please reach out to [email protected].
Hires
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
AHIP tapped LaShawn McIver to serve as its chief health equity officer. She joined AHIP from CMS, where she served as director of the agency’s office of minority health. Prior to that, McIver spent nine years leading government affairs and advocacy for the American Diabetes Association.
Curative — which was founded in 2020 as a Covid-19 testing company but has since pivoted to offer health insurance coverage in Texas — appointed Sean Maguire as its chief growth officer. He served as vice president and national practice leader at Humana for nearly a decade.
Medical coding automation startup Fathom named Enoch Shih as COO. Before Fathom, he spent over seven years in leadership positions at Gusto, a provider of payroll software.
Consumer-focused digital healthcare platform GoodRx welcomed Dorothy Gemmell as its new chief commercial officer. She has decades of leadership experience at various healthcare companies, including Capsule and WebMD.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Luna, a company that provides physical therapy in patients’ homes, named RaeAnn Grossman as chief growth officer. She has previously held leadership roles at healthcare companies including Bright Health, Signify Health and Optum.
Phoenix Children’s welcomed Michelle Bruhn as its new CFO. Before joining the children’s hospital, Bruhn was CFO at South Dakota-based Sanford Health, where she spent nearly 25 years.
Departures
Cleveland Clinic CIO Matthew Kull will join Inova, a Virginia-based health system, in August as its new chief information and digital officer. He is leaving Cleveland Clinic after serving as CIO for five years. Sarah Hatchett will take over Kull’s role — she has been the health system’s associate CIO since 2021.
Jefferson Health’s Mark Tykocinski recently stepped down from his roles. He was president of Thomas Jefferson University and interim dean of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Neither he nor Jefferson Health said that this was the reason for his resignation, but Tykocinski was involved in a controversy earlier this year after liking some tweets that questioned the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines and criticized gender reassignment surgery. He said that he liked these tweets so he could bookmark them and better understand various points of view — not because he agrees with them.
Promotions
Optum Health appointed Amar Desai as its new CEO. He joined UnitedHealth Group as executive-in-residence in April, and before that, he was CVS Health’s president of healthcare delivery. Desai is replacing Wyatt Decker, who served as Optum Health’s CEO since 2019 and is now transitioning to the role of chief physician at UnitedHealth Group.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital welcomed Ray Bignall as chief diversity and health equity officer. He is a pediatric nephrologist who joined the system in 2018.
Trinity Life Sciences, which provides consulting services and technology solutions to life sciences firms looking to commercialize their product, welcomed Leslie Orne as its new CEO. She has worked at the company for more than 20 years.
Layoffs
Minneapolis-based Allina Health began a round of layoffs that it said will affect fewer than 350 employees.
Digital therapeutics company Biofourmis confirmed it laid off 120 workers worldwide, including 48 U.S.-based workers.
Biogen announced it is cutting 1,000 jobs. The pharmaceutical giant said these layoffs are a part of its plan to save $700 million in net operating costs by 2025.
Nurse staffing platform ConnectRN laid off 57 employees, which is about 20% of its workforce.
New York-based Garnet Health laid off 49 employees, including 25 of its leaders, to offset its operating losses.
Mental health company Headspace Health has confirmed it laid off 181 workers, which is about 15% of its employee base.
Nurse staffing startup IntelyCare confirmed that it laid off at least 30 of its workers.
Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health said it is cutting about 400 jobs, which is 1% of its workforce.
Telehealth startup TytoCare laid off 20 employees, which is about 10% of its workforce.
North Carolina-based UNC Health plans to let go of 246 employees when it puts an end to services at its behavioral health facility in Raleigh in September.
