PROVIDENCE – Care New England Health System (CNE) President and CEO Dennis D. Keefe, will retire Dec. 31 after six years in the role, Care New England announced Monday.
Keefe will also serve as consultant to CNE for one year to assist pending partnerships and the sale of Memorial Hospital to Prime Healthcare Foundation.
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Dr. James E. Fanale, current executive vice president, chief clinical officer, and chief operating officer of CNE, will become the interim president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2018.
“Since my arrival at Care New England, I have been impressed with the dedication and commitment displayed by everyone at this institution focusing on our mission of caring and healing. I am extremely proud and honored to be a member of this organization for that reason,” said Keefe. “Despite our challenges and recent difficulties, I remain confident in a future of sustained financial stability for Care New England. That is a testament to the work we have done together, and that you will continue to do going forward. It represents the best and necessary path to ensure a strong Care New England regardless of the outcome of our important and current business opportunities.”
“On behalf of the CNE Board of Directors and everyone who is part of the organization, I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Dennis for his leadership, professionalism, and commitment during his tenure as president and CEO,” said Charles R. Reppucci, CNE Board chair.
“This is certainly a trying time in health care, but Dennis has brought his extensive experience and knowledge to this organization to help position us for the future despite many challenges and a rapidly changing landscape. Through it all he has maintained a focus on providing the best possible care for the community through a system built on clinical expertise, access to care, and a caring and compassionate work force. We wish him well in his upcoming retirement,” Reppucci said.
CNE is comprised of four hospitals (Butler, Women & Infants, Kent, and Memorial hospitals), the VNA of Care New England and The Providence Center, with revenues in excess of $1 billion annually.
Keefe previously served as the CEO of Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) and the commissioner of public health for the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 2002 to 2011. Under Mr. Keefe’s leadership, CHA grew significantly, becoming a more than $1 billion integrated health care delivery system. While at CHA, Mr. Keefe led the organization through a significant service reconfiguration plan which served to stabilize the foundation of CHA to serve its employees and patients for the future.
While at Care New England, Keefe co-chaired Governor Raimondo’s Healthcare Leaders’ Workgroup and served as co-chair of Governor Raimondo’s Reinvent Medicaid Workgroup in 2015. He is currently co-chair of Mayor Elorza’s Non-Profit Working Group. He currently sits on the boards of Rhode Island Quality Institute, the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and has been a member of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. He has served as chair of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, and on the Board of the Essential Hospitals Institute. He was chair of the 2015 Southern New England Heart Walk which raised 40 percent more than the previous year’s walk and was campaign chair of the 2013 March of Dimes March for Babies Walk. He has served as chair of the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA). Additionally, he has served on the executive committee of the National Association of Public Hospitals and as board chair of the National Public Health and Hospital Institute.
Prior to arriving at Care New England, Fanale served as senior vice president for system development and chief operating officer at Jordan Hospital, where he was responsible for the development of one of the nation’s first Medicare Shared Savings Programs – Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). In this capacity, he created and implemented programs involving population health management, was responsible for the overall operations of the system, and assisted in the merger of Jordan Hospital into Beth Israel Medical Center.
CNE was founded in 1996, and today it is the parent organization of Butler Hospital, Kent Hospital, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, the VNA of Care New England, The Providence Center, CNE Wellness Center and Integra, a certified accountable care organization (ACO) created in collaboration with the Rhode Island Primary Care Physicians Corp. Care New England includes 970 licensed beds and 216 infant bassinets. Through Butler, Memorial and Women & Infants, Care New England has a teaching and research affiliation with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Kent is a teaching affiliate of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, located in Maine.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer.
