Former HealthGrades CMO named chief quality officer at St. Luke's Health

Physician Samantha Collier, a former executive at HealthGrades, was named vice president and system chief quality officer for St. Luke's Health System, Boise, Idaho.

The appointment to the newly created position is effective Sept. 13. St. Luke's did not provide Collier's age.

Collier previously served as chief medical officer and executive vice president at HealthGrades, the Golden, Colo.-based company that compiles and releases reviews and rankings of physicians, hospitals and nursing homes. Collier worked for HealthGrades for eight years, according to a news release from St. Luke's. During that time, she also continued her private practice as a hospitalist in Denver.

The publicly traded HealthGrades announced last week that its board of directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of equity firm Vestar Capital Partners, which also owns satisfaction-ratings analysis firm Press Ganey Associates.

Under the agreement with HealthGrades, Vestar will pay nearly $300 million to acquire all outstanding shares at a premium of roughly 29% over the closing stock price July 27, the day before the agreement was announced. The all-cash transaction is expected to begin no later than Aug. 10.