Siri Nelson, CEO of Marshall Medical Center in Placerville, Calif., will serve as 2021 chair of the AHA Rural Health Services Council. Philip Pandolph, president and CEO of Meadville Medical Center in Meadville, Pa., is chair-elect. The AHA Board liaison is Joanne Conroy, M.D., president and CEO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center One in Lebanon, N.H.

New council members for 2021 include: Leonard Hernandez, president and CEO of Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital in El Dorado, Kan.; Ruby Kirby, CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare Bolivar Hospital in Bolivar, Tenn.; J. David McCormack, CEO of Vaughan Regional Medical Center in Selma, Ala.; Robert Schmitt, CEO of Gibson Area Hospital and Health Services in Gibson City, Ill.; Michael Stewart, CEO of Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton, Ark.; Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee, assistant surgeon general, U.S. Public Health Service, and director of Indian Health Services; Francine Witt, DNP, R.N., president and CEO of Effingham Health System in Springfield, Ga.; Julie Yaroch, D.O., president of ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital in Adrian, Mich.

The Rural Health Services Council represents the AHA's small, rural and critical access hospital members by participating in the AHA's advocacy, policy and resource development, with a particular focus on strategic opportunities. For more on the constituency section and its leadership, including a complete list of council members, visit the AHA website.

 

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