NJHA Installs Amy Mansue as Board Chair in 100th Anniversary Year

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Amy B. Mansue, of Hightstown, president of the Southern Region of RWJBarnabas Health, today was installed as chair of the Board of the New Jersey Hospital Association, the state's oldest and largest hospital and healthcare advocacy organization. The chair's official installation, as well as the appointment of new Board officers and members, was held during NJHA's 99^th Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Princeton.

Mansue thanked departing Chair Steven G. Littleson, FACHE, of Fair Haven, of Jefferson Health, for his leadership of the Board through a CEO search and strategic planning process.  

In her remarks, Mansue reaffirmed the Association's "true north" of caring for the people of New Jersey as NJHA marks its centennial year. The Association was founded in 1918 when leaders of seven northern New Jersey hospitals came together to discuss common challenges in the aftermath of World War I and a global flu outbreak. They agreed to form NJHA to "study hospital problems," promote standardization and best practices and pursue policy and legislation.

The original seven are Newark City Hospital (today, University Hospital); Muhlenberg Hospital (which became part of JFK Health System and now Hackensack Meridian Health); Elizabeth General Hospital (now Trinitas Regional Medical Center); Morristown Memorial Hospital (now Morristown Medical Center); Paterson General Hospital (now St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital); Christ Hospital (now CarePoint Health Christ Hospital); and the Hudson County Tuberculosis Hospital and Sanitarium, which closed in 1961.

Looking back at the NJHA mission over the decades, Mansue said, "What is past is prologue. Our 2018 mission statement ? to improve the health of the people of New Jersey ? is remarkably in line with the one that guided us in 1947. And our 'true north' remains focused on the people we care for," Mansue said. 

Mansue and her fellow NJHA Board members pledged to focus on wellness for both individuals and New Jersey communities, and collaboration with other leaders and organizations to concentrate on the societal challenges that impact health.

Today's meeting also marked the first for NJHA President and CEO Cathy Bennett, who took the Association's helm in November after serving as state health commissioner.

"In my career which has always addressed health through policy, population health and technology, what could be more fulfilling than being part of the provider community? Where could anyone seek to make a greater impact on health than among you, who literally touch lives every day?" said Bennett.

Under Mansue as board chair, the following officers also were appointed to the NJHA Board:

• Chair-elect Joseph W. Devine, FACHE, of Sewell, president of the New Jersey Division and executive vice president of Hospital and Health Services at Jefferson Health
• Vice Chairman Kevin J. Slavin, of Hackettstown, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Healthcare System
• Treasurer Douglas A. Struyk, CPA, LNHA, of Wayne, president and CEO of Christian Health Care Center
• Secretary Lori Herndon, of Brigantine, president and CEO of AtlantiCare
• Immediate Past Chair Leslie D. Hirsch, FACHE, of Denville, president of Saint Peter's Healthcare System, and
• President Cathy Bennett, of Haddonfield, president and CEO of NJHA.

The following healthcare leaders also were appointed as new board members:
Christopher Gribbin, MD, of Princeton, president of the Medical Society of New Jersey (Ex-Officio) and Ann Marie Leichman, of New City, N.Y, president of the Organization of Nurse Leaders New Jersey.

NJHA, based in Princeton, is a not-for-profit trade association that helps hospitals and other healthcare providers deliver quality, accessible and affordable healthcare. Its affiliates the Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey and the NJHA Institute for Quality and Patient Safety, also nonprofit, engage in programming and partnerships to improve healthcare quality and access.

SOURCE New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA)