SHSMD Announces 2016 President-Elect, Directors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO (October 27, 2015) - The Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) of the American Hospital Association today announced the election of Ruth Padilla Portacci, principal of Healthcare Strategy Partners, as president-elect for the SHSMD Board of Directors for 2016.

Portacci has more than 25 years of strategy, marketing, communication, physician relations and business development experience. Prior to starting her own consulting firm based in Nashville, Tennessee, she served as senior director of strategy and marketing for Community Health Systems (CHS), one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems. In this role, Portacci was responsible for overseeing strategic planning, marketing, physician relations and service excellence for 30 hospitals in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Earlier in her career with CHS, Portacci was regional director of marketing with responsibility for hospitals in nine western states. Before joining CHS, she held positions in both not-for-profit and other for-profit health systems.

Portacci has been a member of SHSMD since 1992 and has served on the board since 2010. She has led and been a member of numerous society committees and task forces. Portacci succeeds Larry Margolis, who becomes SHSMD president in 2016. Margolis is a managing partner at SPM, a brand and marketing communications firm specializing in health care. For more than 25 years, he has worked with hospitals and health systems throughout the United States to develop results-oriented branding and communications programs.

The society also announced the election of three new board members to three-year terms beginning in 2016. They are:

  • Bill Hennessey, regional vice president of marketing and communications, Mercy Health, Springfield, Mo.
  • Lisa Schiller, system vice president of communications and marketing, UNC Health Care and vice president of communications and marketing, Rex Healthcare, Raleigh, N.C.
  • Alan Shoebridge, senior director, marketing operations, Providence Health & Services, Portland, Ore.

Returning as SHSMD board members for 2016 are:

  • Larry Margolis, president, SHSMD; managing partner, SPM Marketing & Communications, La Grange, Ill.
  • Ruth Padilla Portacci, president-elect, SHSMD; principal, Healthcare Strategy Partners, Inc., Nashville.
  • Christine Gallery, immediate past president, SHSMD; senior vice president, planning and chief strategy officer, Emerson Hospital, Concord, Mass.
  • Rick Ayers, vice president of public relations and marketing, Wellspan Health, York, Pa.
  • Kriss Barlow, principal, Barlow/McCarthy, Hudson, Wis.
  • Ben Dillon, vice president and ehealth evangelist, Geonetric, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
  • Ryan Gish, managing director, Kaufman, Hall & Associates, Inc., Skokie, Illinois
  • Rose Glenn, senior vice president, communications and chief marketing officer, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit.
  • Lisa E. Henry, director of marketing, Mary Washington Healthcare, Fredericksburg, Va.
  • Jeff Kraut, executive vice president of strategy and analytics, North Shore-LIJ Health System, Great Neck, N.Y. (Reelected to an additional three-year term).
  • Camille Strickland, senior director, marketing and communication, Orthopaedic Institute for Children, Los Angeles.
  • Holly Sullivan, senior vice president, Hammes Company, Warrenville, Ill.
  • Donna Teach, chief marketing and communication officer, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.
  • Jennifer Wilkerson, vice president, strategic and business planning, Baltimore region, Medstar Health, Nottingham, Md.

The elections were announced at SHSMD’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., on October 13.

About SHSMD
The Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development is the premier organization for healthcare strategic planning, marketing, public relations, communications, and physician relations professionals. A personal membership group of the American Hospital Association, SHSMD serves more than 4,000 members. The society is committed to helping its members prepare for the future with greater knowledge and opportunity as their organizations work to improve health status and quality of life in their communities. For more information, visit shsmd.org.

CONTACT:
Brian Griffin
briangriffin@aha.org
(312) 422-3736