The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have tapped a North Carolina health system executive to take on a new senior leadership post at the agency.
Valinda Rutledge, CEO of CaroMont Health in Gastonia, North Carolina, has been named director of the Patient Care Models Group at CMS’s new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. The Innovation Center was created by federal health reform and it is charged with finding new ways to deliver and pay for healthcare while also saving money for Medicare and Medicaid.
The Patient Care Models Group that Rutledge will lead will look for ways to improve care in the Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance programs by focusing on specific settings such as hospitals, nursing homes and doctors’ offices.
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Rutledge has been CEO of CaroMont since 2009. During her tenure at CaroMont, the hospital system has developed new programs, including a collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina on a new reimbursement model for knee replacements. Dr. Richard Gilfillan, acting director of the Innovation Center, said in a statement that Rutledge’s “work as CEO of CaroMont Health demonstrates that she is an innovative leader who understands the importance of care model redesign.”
Before joining CaroMont, Rutledge was CEO of Bon Secours Saint Francis Health System in Greenville, South Carolina. Rutledge holds an MBA from Butler University and a master’s degree in nursing from Wayne State University.