Heather Dexter named CEO of Emory St. Joseph's in Atlanta, and other newsmakers

Heather Dexter has been named CEO of Emory St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta.

Dexter, 41, has served as the hospital's COO since 2011. She replaces Craig McCoy, who left to become CEO of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System in Greenville, S.C.

In 1998, Dexter began her career at St. Joseph's as an administrative resident. She went on to serve as interim director of human resources and radiology; clinical services division director; VP of planning, development and allied health; and VP of surgical services and planning, before becoming COO.

Deidra Wilson has been named VP of government relations at McLaren Health Care Corp., a hospital system based in Flint, Mich.

Wilson, 37, will work on issues at the state and federal levels. Before joining McLaren, she worked for over 11 years at Detroit-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan. She most recently was director of state government relations and a senior member of the insurer's government affairs management team.

Wilson previously was a senior health policy adviser for Michigan's state Legislature and served as a legislative associate for former U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.).

Dr. Sashikanth “Sashi” Kodali has been named chief medical information officer at Sparks Health System, Fort Smith, Ark.

Kodali, 38, is board certified in internal medicine and clinical Informatics, a recently recognized subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties. He has held a number of leadership roles as a physician informaticist over the past nine years while actively practicing as a hospitalist.

Most recently, Kodali served as a medical director of informatics at Vidant Health, Greenville, N.C. He previously was a medical director in the clinical innovation department at Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pa.

Bruce Tassin has been named president of St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Ky., and Lexington market leader for the hospital's parent, KentuckyOne Health. The changes are effective Nov. 9.

Tassin, 49, replaces interim President Sue Downs, who is also president of Flaget Memorial Hospital, a KentuckyOne Health facility in Bardstown. KentuckyOne Health is a subsidiary of Catholic Health Initiatives, which operates in 19 states.

Tassin is currently president and CEO at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, N.M.

Jim Roosevelt will retire as CEO of Tufts Health Plan at the end of the year after leading the Watertown, Mass.-based organization for 10 years.

Roosevelt will step down Jan. 1 and be succeeded by Tom Croswell, the health plan's president and COO. Roosevelt joined Tufts in 1999 as senior VP and general counsel.

Croswell joined Tufts in 2007 as COO and was given the additional title of president in 2013. He previously was senior VP of medical management and specialty businesses at Cigna Corp., where he also served as president of the insurer's dental, pharmacy and worker's compensation businesses.

Roosevelt will remain an adviser to the company after his retirement.