Sen. Tom Coburn to leave U.S. Senate, and other moves

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, a physician and opponent of the 2010 healthcare reform law, will leave the Senate at the end of this Congress, two years before his term expires.

The Oklahoma Republican—who specialized in family medicine, obstetrics and the treatment of allergies—has battled cancer, but said that is not the reason why he is leaving the Senate. He will turn 66 in March.

“This decision isn't about my health, my prognosis, or even my hopes and desires,” he said in a written statement. “My commitment to the people of Oklahoma has always been that I would serve no more than two terms.”

Coburn said in the statement that he sees public service as a “calling rather than a career.” That was the same approach he took when he served in the House of Representatives, where he vowed to serve no more than three terms. He represented Oklahoma's second congressional district between 1995 and 2001 and then re-entered Congress in 2005 after he was elected to the Senate in 2004.

Mercy Health Muskegon (Mich.) named Greg Loomis president, effective Jan. 1.

Loomis, 61, had been acting as president in an interim capacity since November 2012, as well as continuing to serve as the hospital's COO. He has more than 30 years of healthcare leadership experience, including oversight of clinical and support services, implementation of an electronic health-record system and integration of several hospitals.

St. Vincent's East, a hospital in Birmingham, Ala., named Michael Korpiel president and COO, effective Dec. 30.

Korpiel took over for Andrew Gnann, who has been serving as interim president and COO, allowing Gnann to resume his role of VP of operations for St. Vincent's East. Korpiel, 53, joined the hospital with more than two decades of healthcare operations experience, most recently as COO of the University of Mississippi Hospitals and Health Systems in Jackson.

Ron Galonsky is the new CEO of Lakewood Regional Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Galonsky joined Lakewood from Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif., where he most recently served as chief operations and integration officer. Galonsky, 51, has 24 years of experience in the healthcare industry.

Carle, an integrated network of healthcare services based in Urbana, Ill., named Dr. Matthew Gibb executive VP and system chief medical officer.

Gibb, 56, is a cardiologist and former senior flight surgeon with the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. He most recently served as medical director of Carle Heart and Vascular Institute.

The Queen's Health Systems in Honolulu named two new executives—Kenneth Graham as acting president of North Hawaii Community Hospital and Marilynn Hata as acting VP of finance and operations for the system.

Graham most recently served as system integration adviser in the office of the president and CEO of Queen's, providing support for hospital planning, clinical integration, corporate alignment and neighbor-island health.

Hata, who has experience in practice-management consulting, is also not new to Queen's. She previously served as a business development consultant.

Dr. Clay Johnston will serve as the inaugural dean of the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.

Johnston, 49, is a practicing neurologist and also serves as associate vice chancellor of research at the University of California at San Francisco. He will begin his new roles in Austin on March 1, which also include university VP for medical affairs and professor of neurology.

Dell Medical School plans to admit its first class of students in the fall of 2016.