Niall Brennan named president and executive director of Health Care Cost Institute and other newsmakers

Niall Brennan has been named president and executive director of the Health Care Cost Institute, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving price transparency based in Washington, D.C. He succeeds David Newman, who is stepping down. Newman founded the organization in 2011.

Brennan was the CMS' first chief data officer. He was appointed during the Obama administration in November 2014 and is credited with significantly improving data transparency at the agency. Previously, Brennan was head of the CMS' Office of Enterprise Management.

Todd Hancock​ has been named president and CEO at Christus Good Shepherd Health System in Longview, Texas. He replaces Steve Altmiller.

Hancock most recently was senior VP and CEO of regional operations of Christus Trinity Mother Frances, a hospital in Tyler, Texas. Previously he held several other leadership positions at Trinity Mother Frances, including VP of operations and COO.

Gerald Parton has been named president and CEO of East Jefferson Hospital in Metairie, La. He replaces longtime CEO​ Dr. Mark Peters, who retired in March after 15 years in the role. Dr. Raymond DeCorte, CMO of East Jefferson, served as interim CEO.

Parton was previously regional VP of Quorum Health Resources. He also served as CEO of Meadowcrest Hospital, a former Tenet Healthcare Corp. facility in Gretna, La. ​

Terri Smith has been named COO of Sacred Heart Health System, an Ascension subsidiary based in Pensacola, Fla. She replaces Amy Wilson, who now serves as chief nursing officer at Ascension's St. Thomas Health in Nashville.

Smith was most recently VP of cancer services at Sacred Heart for nearly 10 years. She played a key role in establishing the hospital's affiliation with MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Dr. Joshua Lee was promoted to chief medical officer at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. He succeeds Dr. Chad Whelan, who was recently appointed president at the medical center.

Lee joined Loyola in 2016 as VP and chief health information officer. Before joining Loyola, he was CIO of the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine and medical director of the USC Care Faculty Medical Group. He also previously served as chief medical information officer of UC San Diego Health.