Hospital Association Names New Chairman, Appoints Board Officers and New Members

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thomas A. Biga, FACHE, of Fairhaven, executive vice president of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, today was installed as chairman of the board of the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA), the state's oldest and largest hospital and healthcare advocacy organization. The chairman's official installation, as well as the appointment of new board members, was held during NJHA's 92nd Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Princeton.

Biga succeeds outgoing chairman Alexander J. Hatala, FACHE, of Lourdes Health System in Camden.  In taking the reins of the NJHA Board, Biga said, "Healthcare reform will challenge our hospitals and physicians to achieve unprecedented levels of performance, while at the same time introducing very disruptive choices about the future direction of our collective organizations."

He challenged hospital leaders to fight as one for adequate financial reimbursement for the state's ailing hospitals, but also to lead a transformation that will define healthcare for the future.

"At the end of the day, the government will provide a limited payment for the provision of care across the spectrum of venues where care is needed.  Our challenge is to figure out, rather quickly, how to develop a model that will allow us to thrive under a yet undefined system.

"I can't think of a more critical time for leadership than right now, in the midst of overwhelming change," he added. "Why can't New Jersey hospitals lead the nation in this change? We have some of the best hospitals in this country. We have physicians at our institutions who are among the most talented on earth, trained at the best programs.  We have some of the brightest and most forward-thinking healthcare executives in the industry."

Under the chairmanship of Biga, the following officers of the NJHA board also were appointed: Secretary Leslie D. Hirsch of Denville, Saint Clare's Health System; Treasurer Stephen K. Jones of Kendall Park, Robert Wood Johnson Health System; Vice Chairman Joseph P. Coyle of Cedar Run, Southern Ocean Medical Center; and chair-elect Audrey Meyers of Ridgewood, Valley Health System.

The following healthcare leaders also were appointed as new board members: Robin Wittenstein of Roslyn, N.Y., UMDNJ-University Hospital; John Brennan, MD, of Randolph, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center; Ninfa Saunders of Moorestown, Virtua; and Donald J. Cinotti, the Medical Society of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Hospital Association, based in Princeton, is the statewide advocate for its 110- member hospitals, its 300-plus post-acute members and the patients they serve.

SOURCE New Jersey Hospital Association