Carolyn Clancy named VA's interim health undersecretary, and other moves

Dr. Carolyn Clancy, the former longtime director of the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, is now interim undersecretary for health at the Veterans Affairs Department.

Clancy, 60, joined the VA in August 2013 and has served as the VA's assistant deputy health undersecretary for quality, safety and value. She will lead efforts to expand veterans' access to medical care as well as reduce lengthy waiting lists for veterans seeking appointments.

An internist, Clancy was named AHRQ's director in February 2003 and was reappointed in October 2009. She first joined AHRQ in 1990 and previously served as director of its Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research.

• Bob Hemker will leave the top finance role at Palomar Health and become the system's president and CEO effective Aug. 15.

  Hemker, 59, has served as CFO of the Escondido, Calif.-based system for the past 13 years and has more than 30 years of healthcare experience.

  He will replace Michael Covert, who has led Palomar since 2003. Covert announced last month that he will be leaving the organization to become CEO of CHI St. Luke's Health in Houston. Palomar is a public health district with two hospitals and three medical campuses.

• Dan McKay has been named CEO of Sparks Health System, Fort Smith, Ark., and Summit Medical Center, Van Buren, Ark., effective in August. Both are affiliated with Community Health Systems, Franklin, Tenn.

  For the past five years, McKay, 48, has been CEO of Northwest Health System, Springdale, Ark., also affiliated with CHS. Prior to serving as CEO at Northwest, McKay was a VP at CHS, supporting the management of operations at system hospitals across the U.S.

• Dr. Barrie Baker has been named chief medical officer for Network Health, a division of Tufts Health Plan, Watertown, Mass., that serves more than 240,000 Massachusetts residents with low and moderate incomes.

  Baker, a family physician, will oversee all of the division's clinical activities, including the development and implementation of comprehensive medical programs and policies. She also will work to enhance relationships with providers and regulatory agencies.

  Before joining not-for-profit Tufts, Baker was CMO at Aetna Better Health and Aetna Better Health Kids in Philadelphia. She also served as medical director for Coventry's Medicaid programs in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

• HealthNow New York has named Dr. Thomas Schenk chief medical officer and Dave Busch chief sales officer.

Previously, Schenk, 43, a pediatrician, was on staff at Delaware Pediatric Associates in Buffalo, N.Y. He will oversee HealthNow's medical staff and health-improvement programs. Busch, 46, comes from ValueOptions, a behavioral health and wellness company based in Norfolk, Va.

HealthNow New York is the parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York and Blue Shield of Northeastern New York. The company has approximately $2.5 billion in annual revenue and 1 million beneficiaries.