Winchester Hospital President/CEO Elected to Leadership Role in Community Hospital System

The following is from Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals.

Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals Announces New Board of Directors

Braintree, Mass. – The Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals (MCCH) recently announced its newly elected board of directors.

Kevin F. Smith, president and CEO of Winchester Hospital, was named president; Kevin A. Hovan, president and CEO of Southcoast Health System, was named vice president; Christine Schuster, president and CEO of Emerson Hospital, was named clerk and Michael K. Lauf, president and CEO of Cape Cod Healthcare, was named treasurer.

The Braintree-based non-profit organization’s primary focus is advocacy for the advancement of community medicine and community hospitals. “We appreciate the personal commitment of these officers,” said Donald Thieme, executive director of MCCH. “Our organization relies heavily on the expertise and dedication of its board of directors to strengthen the community hospital system,” he added.

“Community hospitals are an important stabilizing factor in the economic viability of the cities and towns where they are located; often they are the largest employer in the area. Strengthening the community hospital system is more important now than ever as the Commonwealth looks to implement health care cost reform by improving access and mitigating rising health care costs,” Thieme said.

MCCH consists of 23 community hospitals from throughout the state that collectively care for more than 25 percent of acute care hospital admissions.