Verity Health names new CEO, COO

Verity Health System, formerly the Daughters of Charity Health System, has appointed a new CEO and COO.

Andrei Soran has been named CEO of the hospital safety net system based in Redwood City, Calif., after serving as COO for about three months.

He replaces Mitchell Creem, who assumed the role of chief administrative officer for the system. Creem will contribute financial expertise to Verity's acquisitions, capital planning and information technology initiatives.

B. Joseph Badalian will replace Soran as COO, effective Sept. 1. He was most recently CEO of Fountain Valley (Calif.) Regional Hospital & Medical Center, a facility that's part of Tenet Healthcare Corp. Previously, Soran was COO and executive VP of Detroit Medical Center, also a Tenet facility.

Daughters of Charity took the new name under new management last December when private equity firm Blue Mountain Capital Management committed $100 million to the cash-strapped system in exchange for the lease on Verity's information technology assets. The firm has the option to purchase the system within three to 15 years.

In a report that highlights the system's first 100+ days, the leaders outline a plan that includes recruiting physicians, renegotiating managed-care contracts and marketing a campaign to introduce the rebranded hospitals to the community.

Verity recently took steps to cut costs as it struggles to cope with falling patient volume. In the quarter ended May 31, the number of births decreased 17.4%, while emergency department visits fell 4.4%. For the nine months ended May 31, Verity reported an operating loss of nearly $103 million on $993.9 million in total revenue.