Sarasota Memorial CEO Gwen MacKenzie leaving post, and other moves

(This article has been updated to correct the location of St. Joseph Health System.)

Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Health System President and CEO Gwen MacKenzie will depart next month after nearly a decade leading the public health system.

MacKenzie, 59, is stepping down from Sarasota Memorial to take an executive position with not-for-profit Catholic health system Ascension Health in her home state of Michigan. Beginning June 1, she will serve as senior VP, Michigan market leader, with responsibilities for the administrative direction, strategy and operations of Ascension Health's five Michigan systems—Borgess Health in Kalamazoo Township, Genesys Health System in Grand Blanc, St. John Providence Health System in Detroit, St. Joseph Health System in Tawas City and St. Mary's of Michigan in Saginaw.

During MacKenzie's tenure, Sarasota Memorial experienced a financial turnaround that paved the way to open seven outpatient centers and undergo a $250 million campus-improvement project.

David Verinder, Sarasota Memorial's COO since 2010 and previous CFO, will serve as interim CEO while a nationwide search is conducted for MacKenzie's successor.

Christus Health, Irving, Texas, has named Paul Trevino president and CEO of its southeast Texas region, which includes three hospitals. He replaces Ellen Jones, who recently retired after more than 30 years of service in various roles at Christus, a Roman Catholic system with facilities in six states, as well as Mexico and Chile.

Trevino, 51, has almost 25 years of experience in healthcare, and has served in various leadership positions within the system, most recently as interim CEO of the southeast Texas region. In 2009, he became regional VP of the region and administrator at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, Texas. He was instrumental in that facility's acquisition last year of the Beaumont Bone and Joint Hospital, and construction of a new emergency department for the campus.

When William McGinly, president and CEO of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, retires at the end of June, Steven Churchill will move into the role.

McGinly, 68, is retiring June 30 after 31 years with the Falls Church, Va.-based organization, which has given him the title of president emeritus.

Effective July 1, Churchill, 50, joins AHP with more than 25 years of management experience in fundraising and not-for-profit organizations. Most recently, he served as executive director of the American Medical Association Foundation, where he has worked since 2007.

AHP's members include executive directors, chief development officers, major gift officers, annual campaign managers, event coordinators and grant writers. They raise more than $9 billion annually for community health services, according to the association.

Charles Ewell, founder of the San Diego-based Governance Institute, died April 16 at his home in San Diego after a battle with cancer. He was 77. Ewell, who earned a doctorate in management from the University of Wisconsin, spent his career in hospital management. The institute, which Ewell founded in 1986 to provide education and research services to not-for-profit hospital and health system governing boards, today serves more than 11,000 healthcare directors and CEOs.

Ewell was the first president of San Diego-based American Healthcare Systems when it was created in 1984. The system merged into what is now Premier. He published dozens of articles and several books on management and governance strategy, and lectured at the University of Wisconsin, Yale University, Ohio State University and UCLA.