Samitt to focus on innovative ventures

Who: Dr. Craig Samitt, 49

Promoted to: President of DaVita's HealthCare Partners division, after being named executive vice president in September. Added responsibilities include finance, information technology and contracting.

Replacing: Samitt will take over responsibilities from Matthew Mazdyasni, who will resign from his position as executive vice president and CFO after 30 years with HealthCare Partners. Dennis Kogod, the division's COO, will also expand his role.

Previous role: President and CEO of Dean Health Systems in Madison, Wis., starting in 2006.

Growth on the horizon: “My original focus when I started was to develop our future strategies and explore growth opportunities and partnerships. … Our two primary areas of focus in the near future are organic growth in current markets and acquisitions in new markets and growth through innovative joint ventures and partnerships with hospitals and payers.”

Impact of healthcare reform: “While the legislated and regulatory cuts planned for Medicare Advantage are significant over the next few years, and for the most part are being passed from insurers along to providers and patients, we believe that continued improvement and spread of our innovative care model to other U.S. markets will allow us to continue to drive the transformation of U.S. healthcare.”