Ambulatory accreditation group names Breian Meakens COO, and other newsmakers

Breian Meakens has been named COO at the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. Meakens, 44, previously served as CFO at Christopher House, which operates schools in Chicago that serve primarily low-income families.

Michael Janniere was named senior VP and chief people officer at the association. In his new role, he will oversee human resources, AAAHC's accreditation organization, Acreditas Global, and its for-profit consulting subsidiary, Healthcare Consultants International. Janniere, 43, was previously director of total rewards at the American Hospital Association, where he designed, developed and implemented compensation and benefits programs.

Also, Tess Poland was appointed VP for ambulatory operations at the AAAHC. She was most recently associate VP for the American Osteopathic Information Association, which works to advance the use of healthcare information technology in osteopathic medicine.

Anthony Jackson has been named CEO at Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Hospital. Jackson will begin his new role in mid-January. He replaces John Sullivan, who retired last summer after serving for seven years at the hospital's helm. Jackson, 47, previously served as CEO of HealthSouth Corp.'s Rehabilitation Hospital in Columbia, S.C., and has over 20 years of experience at HealthSouth, including leadership roles with the company's diagnostic, acute-care and rehabilitation divisions.

Peggy Sebastian has been named president and CEO of St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville, Ill., part of the Hospital Sisters Health System. She will begin her new role on Jan. 18. Sebastian, 59, most recently was CEO of the system's St. Joseph's Hospital in Highland, Ill., a role she has held since 2009.

J. Michael Pearson, CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, will be taking a medical leave of absence after being hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia. Pearson, 56, began his career with Valeant in 2008, after serving as head of global pharmaceutical practices for 23 years with consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

Valeant released no further details about Pearson's leave of absence, but announced three executives who will take over for him in the interim.

Robert Chai-Onn, 44, is the company's general counsel and oversees corporate legal teams and activities. Chai-Onn joined Valeant in 2004.

Dr. Ari Kellen, 51, serves as Valeant's executive VP and company group chairman. Kellen is responsible for U.S. dermatology, Bausch and Lomb and Valeant's Latin American business. He joined the company in January 2014.

Robert Rosiello, 57, is the company's executive VP and CFO. Before his appointment as CFO in July, he spent 30 years at McKinsey & Co., where he assisted healthcare companies with mergers and acquisitions.

Steve Valentine has been named VP of strategic healthcare management consulting at Premier, with headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.

Valentine, 62, most recently led the group purchasing and quality management organization's West Coast division. Previously, he was president of the Camden Group, a management consulting firm in El Segundo, Calif., for 23 years.