Dr. Donald Williamson named president of Alabama Hospital Association, and other newsmakers

Dr. Donald Williamson will become the next president of the Alabama Hospital Association.

Williamson, 60, will take office in November. He replaces Mike Horsley, who has announced his retirement.

For the past 23 years, Williamson has served as state health officer of the Alabama Department of Public Health, and he currently chairs the state's Medicaid Transition Task Force. He will continue in the positions until he starts his new role.

Williamson has held leadership roles at several national and state organizations, including the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Catholic Health Initiatives has named Cheryl Harelstad senior VP of supply chain.

Harelstad, 54, comes to the Englewood, Colo.-based health system from Minneapolis-based Allina Health.

At Allina, she was VP of shared services, overseeing supply-chain management, clinical engineering and laboratory services. Previously, Harelstad was an equity owner of a management consulting group and a manager at Deloitte Consulting.

Brian Dean has been promoted to CEO of Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston.

Dean, 38, has been the hospital's VP and CFO for the past two years. He's been serving as interim CEO since February, when Craig Cordola was promoted to senior VP and regional president of Memorial Hermann Health System's Central/West Region.

Before joining Memorial Hermann, Dean was senior VP of finance at Miami-based Jackson Health System and CEO of the system's health plan. He also served in leadership positions at University Community Health in Tampa, Fla., and the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in Lexington.

Michael Grace has been named president of UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh.

Grace, 44, has served in a number of positions during his 14-year career with UPMC. He replaces Will Cook, who will soon start his new role as president and CEO at University of Colorado Hospital.

Most recently, Grace was VP of operations at UPMC Shadyside. He has also served as executive administrator of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's pediatrics department and the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute, as well as director of administrative services and physician relations for UPMC's physician services division.

Healthways, a Franklin, Tenn.-based wellness program provider, has named board chairman Donato Tramuto president and CEO, effective Nov. 1.

Tramuto, 58, will replace Ben Leedle, whose contract was terminated in May. Alfred Lumsdaine, the company's CFO and interim CEO, will continue as CFO.

Leedle's termination came less than two months after Healthways completed a strategic review and opted to remain independent. The company was under pressure from its largest shareholder to consider a sale or other growth strategies after several quarters when it failed to meet earnings targets.

Tramuto is founder and CEO of Physicians Interactive, a marketing firm now a subsidiary of Merck & Co. Previously, he served as president of Allscripts' physicians interactive division.