PROVIDENCE – Care New England Health System’s top financial executive will retire at the end of next month, marking the departure of another high-ranking officer in Rhode Island’s hospital groups.
Joseph Iannoni, Care New England’s chief financial officer, will retire on Jan. 31, spokesperson Raina C. Smith confirmed on Wednesday.
Iannoni had joined the Care New England senior financial management team in 2014 and helped the organization through a period of serious financial challenges, Smith said.
Care New England’s next CFO will face another challenging landscape. The state’s second-largest hospital group reported a $34.2 million loss for fiscal 2022, compared to $16.1 million in net income a year earlier.
Care New England operates Kent County Memorial Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital and Butler Hospital.
During his tenure, Iannoni implemented changes such as standardizing the health system’s accounting and finance functions; identifying and addressing structural operational deficiencies; restructuring Care New England’s debt in 2016; and “navigating CNE through difficult operations during distressing times and complex merger attempts,” Smith said in a statement.
After a rejected attempt to merge – its latest request in a decades-long development – with Lifespan Corp., the state’s largest health care system, earlier this year, Care New England has said it intends to remain independent despite financial difficulties, rather than seeking another merger.
The health system, and Rhode Island’s overall health care landscape, have experienced a wave of retirements or resignations among senior leadership. Former Care New England CEO and president Dr. James Fanale retired on Dec. 1, and was replaced by Dr. Michael Wagner, former CEO and president of Tufts Medical Center.
Lifespan Corp., the state’s largest health care system, has experienced a similar trend, with former CEO and president Timothy J. Babineau abruptly resigning earlier in the year, and John Fernandez, currently the president of Mass Eye and Ear and Mass General Brigham Integrated Care, set to step into that role. Lifespan also reported a troubling year financially for fiscal 2022, with a $187.6 million net loss.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@pbn.com.
