July 20, 2001
The MGH Administration will undergo significant changes in the next several weeks, as the successors to two key leadership positions were named last week and another position was upgraded to a vice president role.
Jean Elrick, MD, has been selected as senior vice president for Administration, succeeding Michael S. Jellinek, MD, who became president of Newton-Wellesley Hospital in April. Joan Sapir has been chosen as vice president for Neurosciences and Pediatrics, succeeding Jane Holtz, who is retiring from the MGH.
In addition to these changes, Allison Rimm, director of the Office of the President, will assume the role of vice president of External Affairs, reflecting her additional responsibilities as a liaison to key departments within Partners HealthCare System.
"We are very fortunate to be able to fill these important leadership positions from within the MGH family," says James J. Mongan, MD, president of the MGH. "I think this is further testament to the high caliber of talented, knowledgeable and skilled professionals we have at this hospital."
Elrick
(left) joined the MGH in 1986, when she became a resident at the hospital after
graduating from Harvard Medical School. She then became a fellow in Critical Care Medicine
in 1990 and received her professional staff appointment in Anesthesia in 1991. Elrick
joined the Operations Improvement program in 1995, which she went on to lead, and also
served as director of the Decision Support Unit. In 1996, she accepted a role at Partners
as director of Clinical Improvement, while continuing her clinical practice at the MGH.
That same year, she completed an advanced management program at Harvard Business School.
In 1998, she became a vice president for Partners. Elrick will assume her new role at the
MGH Aug. 27 and will continue her clinical practice.
Sapir (right) also has had
considerable experience at the hospital, serving in dual roles within
the MGH and the Massachusetts General
Physicians Organization (MGPO), most recently as vice president of Customer Service and
Practice Support. In that role, she was responsible for customer service for referring
physicians, patients and visitors, as well as support of all ambulatory care services for
the hospital and the MGPO. In addition, she has held several leadership positions for such
departments as Information Administration Systems, Ambulatory Care Managed Care Operations
and Administration. A graduate of Yale University, Harvard Graduate School of Education
and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, Sapir joined the MGH in 1986
after six years at Beth Israel Hospital, where she served in several roles, including as
an assistant director.
Since
1995, Rimm has served as director of the MGH Office of the President, where she is
responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day management of the office. In
addition, she provides executive oversight of Public Affairs, Government Relations, the
Multicultural Affairs Office and the Health Insurance Access Program. She now also will
serve as liaison to key Partners activities and services, such as Information Systems and
Real Estate. Even before assuming this role, Rimm was no stranger to the MGH. She first
was introduced to the hospital in 1986 as a research technologist for the Pediatric
Gastroenterology Unit before she embarked upon her career in health care policy and
management. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Harvard
School of Public Health, Rimm has held several policy and regulatory positions at Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Department of Medical Security
and the Executive Office of Human Services for Massachusetts.