John. D. Doyle
Executive Vice President
Ascension
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ascension Holdings and Ascension Holdings International
John D. Doyle serves as executive vice president, Ascension, the parent organization of Ascension Health. He is also president and chief executive officer, Ascension Holdings, as subsidiary of Ascension. He is responsible for incubation of innovative services, solutions and relationships with potential to accelerate achievement of Ascension's Strategic Direction and provide alternative revenue from non-traditional sources domestically and internationally.
Mr. Doyle, along with other executives, oversees incubation of transformational solutions and innovative relationships that have the potential to accelerate accomplishment of Ascension's strategic direction. He serves on the board of TriMedx International, a joint venture currently providing clinical engineering services in India. He also serves on the board of Ascension Holdings and The Resource Group, a business transformation subsidiary of Ascension Holdings.
Before assuming his current role, Mr. Doyle was Ascension Health's chief strategy officer, responsible for developing the organization's strategic direction and managing its implementation. He was instrumental in establishing a framework for developing the capabilities Ascension needs to accomplish its 2020 Vision. He also served Ascension Health as general manager for transformational development. Previously, he was senior vice president of strategic business development & innovation.
Before joining Ascension Health's System Office, Mr. Doyle was executive vice president for strategic development for St. Vincent Hospitals and Health Services (now St. Vincent Health) in Indiana, overseeing strategic planning, network development, managed care, marketing, corporate communications and government affairs. Mr. Doyle is a former vice president of marketing, public affairs and product line management for MacNeal Health Network in Chicago. He began his career serving St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Mr. Doyle earned a bachelor's degree from Butler University, Indianapolis and a master's degree from Ball State University, Muncie, Ind.
Sr. Patricia A. Eck, CBS
Congregation Leader
Sisters of Bon Secours of Paris
Sister Patricia Eck, CBS, is congregation leader of the Sisters of Bon Secours of Paris. Elected in 2009, her role includes the congregation's ministries in France, Great Britain, Ireland, Peru, Africa and the United States. Sr. Pat entered the Congregation in 1966 as a nurse. In addition to her work as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, she served as the full time chair of Bon Secours Health System from 1997 to 2009. She holds a master of science in nursing degree from the Catholic University of America and an master of health administration degree from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia.
In 2011, she received the Papal award, Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal, the highest honor given to a member of a religious community by the Vatican. Among other recognitions, Sister Pat received the Sister Mary Concilia Moran Award, in 2007, from the Catholic Health Association for visionary leadership and commitment to Catholic health care. In addition to her international leadership responsibilities, Sr. Pat serves as treasurer for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
Stephanie L. Ferguson, Ph.D., RN, FAAN
Professor of Nursing, School of Health Science and Human Performance, and
Director and professor, Masters of Health Informatics Management Program
Lynchburg College
Stephanie L. Ferguson, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, is a professor of nursing in the School of Health Science and Human Performance, and director and professor in the Masters of Health Informatics Management Program at Lynchburg College. She has also served for more than 20 years as a consulting associate professor in the Bing Stanford in Washington Program at Stanford University.
Dr. Ferguson has worked in more than 100 nations over 20 years as a technical advisor and consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN). At WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, she serves as a technical advisor, consultant and facilitator. Dr. Ferguson developed various resolutions and initiatives for WHO’s “Strengthening Nursing and Midwifery,” progress reports, implementing leadership development programs at the ministerial level and universal health coverage strategies. WHO selected her as a consultant to develop the WHO Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery 2016-2020 (SDNM). Dr. Ferguson was selected by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in 2015 to evaluate the Caribbean Health Cooperation Strategy (CCH III- 2010-2015) in 22 nations and determine the recommendations for the way forward CCH IV (2016-2020) strategy. Dr. Ferguson is currently based at PAHO in Washington, D.C., as a technical advisor to develop the Strategic Direction for Nursing and Regional Strategy for Human Resources for Health in the Americas. From 2000-2015, Dr. Ferguson served as the ICN director of the Leadership for Change Programme and the Global Nursing Leadership Institute in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Ferguson is a board member of the Bon Secours Health System, Inc. Dr. Ferguson is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, formerly known as the Institute of Medicine. In September 2016, Dr. Ferguson was appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to serve on the Consensus study to advise the next Presidential administration on Global Health and the Future Role of the United States. She is also a distinguished practitioner in the National Academies of Practice, and fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) where she serves as the chair of its Institute for Nursing Leadership’s National Advisory Council. Dr. Ferguson is an Honorary Council Board Member of the G4 Alliance for Safe Surgical Care. She serves as a member of the “Nursing Economic” journal’s editorial board and the director of its Global Health Department, which includes her regularly-featured column, entitled, “Global Health.” Dr. Ferguson was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) and she served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB). In 1996-97, President William Clinton appointed Dr. Ferguson as a White House Fellow and she worked for the Honorable Secretary Donna E. Shalala at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). DHHS Secretary Tommy Thompson appointed her in 2001 to serve on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Also in 2001, Dr. Ferguson was selected by the Department of Defense’s Airforce Air War College’s National Security Forum in Montgomery, Ala., because of her expertise in global health security.
Dr. Ferguson received her doctorate degree from the University of Virginia in 1996, a master’s degree from the Medical College of Virginia at the Virginia Commonwealth University in 1987 and her bachelor of science in nursing degree from the University of Virginia in 1985.
Michael H. Merson, MD
Founding Director, Duke Global Health Institute and
Wolfgang Joklik Professor of Global Health, Duke University, and
Vice President and Vice Provost for Global Affairs, Duke University
Michael H. Merson, MD, is the founding director of the Duke Global Health Institute and the Wolfgang Joklik Professor of Global Health at Duke University. In addition, Dr. Merson is the university’s vice president and vice provost for global affairs. From 2010 to 2016 he served as vice chancellor for Duke-National University of Singapore Affairs.
After serving as a resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he worked in the Enteric Diseases Branch at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and then served as the chief epidemiologist at the Cholera Research Laboratory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research focused on the etiology and epidemiology of acute diarrheal diseases, including cholera, in developing countries and on the cause of travelers' diarrhea in persons visiting these countries. In 1978, he joined the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Medical Officer in the Diarrheal Diseases Control Program. He served as director of that program from January 1980 until May 1990, from 1987 to 1990 as director of the WHO Acute Respiratory Infections Control Program, and from 1990 to 1995 as director of the WHO Global Program on AIDS. In April 1995, he was appointed the first dean of the Yale School of Public Health, a position he held until December 2004. From 1999 to 2006, he was director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale University.
Dr. Merson has authored more than 175 articles, primarily in areas of disease prevention and global health policy. He is the lead editor of Global Health: Disease, Programs, Systems, and Policies, a leading global health textbook in the United States. He has served in advisory capacities for various United Nations agencies, international organizations and foundations and on several NIH review panels and academic advisory committees.
Dr. Merson graduated from Amherst College and the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center.
He is a recipient of two honorary degrees and the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Ernie Sadau, MHA, FACHE
President & Chief Executive Officer
CHRISTUS Health
Ernie Sadau is president & chief executive officer of CHRISTUS Health, a role he assumed on March 1, 2011. In this position, he leads day-to-day operations for CHRISTUS Health and lends extensive expertise in developing programs to improve quality and clinical integration and preparing the organization to capitalize on the opportunities of the future.
He joined CHRISTUS as senior vice president of patient and resident care operations in 2006. His title was changed to senior vice president and chief operating officer in 2008 as he expanded his role and oversight within the organization. He continues to provide guidance, consultation and direction to CHRISTUS entity leaders with responsibility for patient and resident care within the system. He has over 25 years of experience in health care operations and finance, providing measurable operational performance improvement and strong leadership skills.
In his tenure at CHRISTUS Health, Mr. Sadau has led the consolidation of the organization's non-acute entities, developed an algorithm process for continuous evaluation of operational and strategic success and implemented new regional structure and accountability to stabilize operations and improve financial performance. He also served as the chief diversity and inclusion officer for CHRISTUS Health, developing the strategic initiatives and processes to ensure that CHRISTUS is living out its commitment to valuing differences and strengthening the ministry's culture of inclusion.
Before joining CHRISTUS, he served in many roles at Adventist Health System from 1983-2006, holding various executive positions in the organization's many hospitals and systems, including chief financial officer, administrator and president and CEO of Adventist Health System/Midwest in Hinsdale, Ill., which includes five hospitals, over 60 physician practices, surgery and imaging centers and several home care agencies. During his tenure with Adventist, he led successful hospital acquisitions and joint ventures; implemented thriving physician recruiting, community relations and employee development programs and developed many necessary medical services in the communities he served, including opening the only freestanding Emergency Room in Illinois and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
He holds a master's degree in hospital administration from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He received his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of North Texas. He is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives, and was named an Up & Comer by Modern Healthcare magazine in 2000, an award that honors rising young stars in the health care management field.
Megan Reeve Snair, MPH
Study Director
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Megan Reeve Snair is a study director at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, leading the consensus study on Global Health and the Future of the United States. Previously, she was part of the Global Health Risk Framework team at the National Academies and led the planning of multiple workshops related to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, examining both international and domestic impacts. Her portfolio consisted primarily of projects and studies related to medical and public health preparedness, global health security and community resilience. Prior to joining the National Academies, Ms. Snair worked as an emergency planner for local health departments in Massachusetts, focusing on all-hazards preparedness and the Medical Reserve Corps program. She also spent time with the Boston Public School district analyzing data to improve services and identify gaps in student health and wellness in an urban environment. Ms. Snair received her master degree in public health from Boston University and holds a bachelor of science degree in biophysics from St. Lawrence University in New York.
Moderator
Charles Evans, FACHE
President/Chief Executive Officer
International Health Services Group
Charles R. Evans is president of the International Health Services Group (IHSG) and senior advisor at Jackson Healthcare. IHSG is a social enterprise he founded in 2007 to support health services development in underserved areas of the world. It is the mission of IHSG to work with established organizations to supplement their capabilities in health care management and development as they work to achieve their broader missions. Current projects are located in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. IHSG also founded and supports the Leadership Corps for management capacity building. Finally, IHSG is active in encouraging international hospital partnerships between US hospitals and hospitals in economically developing countries.
Jackson Healthcare is an Atlanta-based consortium of companies that provide physician and clinician staffing, anesthesia management and health care information technology solutions proven to improve clinical and financial outcomes to hospitals, health systems and physician groups throughout the U.S.
Evans serves as a member of the boards at Jackson Healthcare, MiMedx Group, PatientMatters, and on the MedAssets Senior Advisory Board. Additionally, he serves on the boards of non-profit organizations including chairman of MedShare International and chairman of the Hospital Charitable Service Awards. He also serves as a member of the Global Catalyst Group for Institutional Health Partnerships and the International Healthcare Management Competencies Consortium. In 2012, he attained the Board Leadership Fellow credential of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He is an honorary member of the International Hospital Federation. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives; served as a governor of the College from 2004 – 2007; chairman officer from 2008 – 2011; and was the recipient of the 2014 ACHE Gold Medal Award – the highest honor the organization bestows.
Evans' other professional experience includes HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) where he managed company divisions including North Carolina, MidAmerica, and Southeast. He was named president of HCA's Eastern Group in 2004, and was responsible for operations in the Eastern half of the company. Prior to joining HCA, Evans served in executive positions at Memorial Medical Center of Jacksonville, Fla., and Community Hospitals, Indianapolis.
A West Virginia native, Evans received an undergraduate degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College, a Master of Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Indiana University.