AHA names Wurth chief strategy officer

Maryjane Wurth has been named chief strategy and relationship officer at the American Hospital Association, as well as president and CEO of Health Forum, the AHA's business-development arm. The appointment will be effective in late January.

Wurth, 59, has been president and CEO of the Illinois Hospital Association for the past six years. A.J. Wilhelmi, the IHA's chief government relations officer since 2012, will succeed Wurth on Jan 1.

Before leading the state association, Wurth spent 12 years as COO of the Healthcare Association of New York State, where she also served as president and CEO of HANYS Solutions, the association's for-profit subsidiary.

Plachikkat Anantharam has been named CFO at the NYC Health and Hospitals system in New York City. He will succeed Marlene Zurack, 55, who is retiring at the end of the month after 15 years with the 11-hospital city-owned system.

Anantharam, 58, most recently was deputy director for health and social services for New York City's Office of Management and Budget. In that role, which he held since 1998, he has overseen the management and development of municipal budgets and financial reporting for health and social services.

Mark Newton will step down next summer as president and CEO of Chicago's Swedish Covenant Hospital after leading the hospital for over 15 years. COO Anthony Guaccio will replace him.

Newton, 65, will resign on June 30, transitioning to a new role in which he takes primary responsibility for the Swedish Covenant Hospital Foundation and the hospital's advocacy efforts. Guaccio, 55, will take over as CEO July 1.

Under Newton's leadership, the hospital added a number of facilities, including two immediate-care centers, an outpatient concept launched in June.

Guaccio has been with Swedish Covenant for over 20 years, serving as COO for the past decade. He previously served as chief human resources officer and senior VP of operations.

Carrie Willetts has been named senior VP of York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health and president of Ephrata (Pa.) Community Hospital.

Willetts, 41, will join the system on Jan. 11. She replaces John Porter Jr., who was named WellSpan's executive VP and COO earlier this year, but has remained in charge of the 130-bed hospital pending the naming of his successor.

Most recently, she was VP of operations for Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Va.

Patrick Curran has formally stepped down as CEO of CareOregon, a not-for-profit health plan based in Portland. He has been on personal leave from the company since September to tend to a family member with health issues, according to a statement.

Scott Clement, the plan's chief network officer, was named interim CEO.

Curran, 53, took the helm at CareOregon in 2013 after serving as interim CEO following the retirement of CEO David Ford.