People on the Move is a rundown of recent hirings, promotions, appointments and other notable movements by professionals in the state. If you’re interested in submitting an entry, please contact news@delawarebusinesstimes.com.
Dr. Ray A. Blackwell, chief of cardiac surgery and the W. Samuel Carpenter III Distinguished Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at ChristianaCare, received the 2021 Tilton Award from the Medical Society of Delaware on Oct. 28 at the Tilton Mansion, now the University & Whist Club in Wilmington, Del.
The award recognizes Blackwell as a pre-eminent cardiac surgeon the past 21 years and for his lifelong commitment to service for the betterment of patients, the local community and the nation. The award is named for Dr. James Tilton, the first U.S. Army Surgeon General of the United States and the first president of the Medical Society of Delaware.
Since joining ChristianaCare in 1996, Blackwell has been recognized among the top cardiac physicians in our region and has been instrumental to the development of the cardiac surgery program. In 2011, he became the surgical director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and led the initiative to establish Christiana Care’s Ventricular Assist Device Program. In 2017 he was named chief of cardiac surgery and has since led the health system’s team of highly skilled and experienced heart surgeons who perform more than 700 heart surgeries each year.
Blackwell has also dedicated his life to service of others, especially on behalf of underprivileged and underrepresented people. As a high school student, he participated in A Better Chance Program, which places underprivileged, underrepresented and underfunded students in better academic environments. He is still active with the organization. He also served on the minority admissions subcommittee and later became a regional recruiter for Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School. In 2019, he received a lifetime achievement award as part of a Dartmouth College celebration, “Standing at the Threshold,” honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Blackwell also received the Raising Kings award in 2018 from the One Village Alliance, an agency dedicated to elevating positive images and setting high expectations for Wilmington’s Black men and boys. He is a regional alumni council member of National Medical Fellowships, which funds underrepresented and underfunded medical students and is co-founder of the Association of Black Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons, which supports and develops upcoming and practicing cardiothoracic surgeons.
Blackwell is also a recipient of the James H. Gilliam Jr. Award from the American Heart Association for his contributions to the health, welfare and benefit of the community.
President of Beebe Healthcare | PHOTO COURTESY OF BEEBE
Dr. David A. Tam, president and CEO of Beebe Healthcare, was awarded the Delaware Healthcare Association’s American Hospital Association Grassroots Champion Award at the 25th Annual Delaware Healthcare Forum, which was held virtually on Oct. 28.
The award recognizes those hospital leaders who most effectively educate elected officials on how major issues affect the hospital’s vital role in the community, who have done an exemplary job in broadening the base of community support for the hospital and who are tireless advocates for hospitals and their patients.
Daniel J. DeFranceschi, a director of Richards, Layton & Finger, has been elected as a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.
Fellowship in the college is by invitation only, offered to exceptional lawyers who are experts in the field of bankruptcy and insolvency and have demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, professional expertise, and leadership. College fellows are recognized for their sustained record of achievement and significant contributions to bankruptcy and insolvency practice.
DeFranceschi, co-chair of Richards, Layton & Finger’s Bankruptcy & Restructuring Department, represents corporate debtors and creditors in all aspects of Chapter 11 cases.
The Chemours Company has appointed Jonathan Lock to lead the company’s sustainability efforts, effective Nov. 8. As senior vice president and chief development officer, he will continue to lead Chemours’ M&A, corporate strategy, and investor relations functions, while also assuming responsibility for sustainability. Sheryl Telford, Chemours’ chief sustainability officer, will report directly to Lock.
Prior to joining Chemours in May 2018, Lock held positions in corporate strategy and investor relations in the energy and materials sector, as well as strategic business transformation and consultancy roles supporting Fortune 500 companies.
ChristianaCare has announced the following leadership changes to achieve its strategic goals:
Dia Williams Adams has been appointed vice president of development. She leads the Development team and helps to secure philanthropic support for ChristianaCare throughout the community. She previously served as the executive director of College Possible Philadelphia.
William Bryant III has been named vice president of perioperative services. He provides overall organizational leadership for clinical operations, performance improvement and financial performance for perioperative services for the Wilmington and Newark campuses. Previously he served as senior director of perioperative services at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
Lauri Littleton has been appointed vice president of patient care services for Women’s & Children’s Services. She provides overall organizational leadership for clinical operations, performance improvement and financial performance in Women’s & Children’s Services at ChristianaCare’s Newark Campus. She previously was a nurse manager on various patient care units at Christiana Hospital.
Leslie Mulshenock has been named vice president of operations for the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. She assumes this role in addition to serving as vice president of operations for ChristianaCare’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health.
Joan Pirrung has been appointed chief nursing officer for ChristianaCare Union Hospital. She previously served as the vice president of patient care services for nursing at Union Hospital.
Dr. Matthew Powell has been appointed chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, where he oversees clinical operations and strategic planning for all anesthesia services, credentialing, privileging and education. He previously served as vice chair of the department.
Kristen Raber has been appointed vice president of system integration, responsible for developing and maintaining a consistent, efficient and holistic integration approach to all internal and external integration activities. She also oversees long-term value creation, helping to advance strategic objectives through participation in the evaluation of acquisitions and managing related integration processes. She was previously corporate director of IT cloud Innovation.
Tanisha Raiford has been named vice president of compliance and chief compliance officer, overseeing corporate compliance programs. She previously served as the chief privacy and chief compliance officer, data protection officer and civil rights coordinator for Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.
Anthony Reed has been appointed vice president of population health operations. He designs and implements population health strategy and programming to position ChristianaCare and associated networks to move successfully toward total cost of care and enhanced value for the community. He previously served as vice president of population health strategic solutions at Ascension Medical Group’s Clinical and Network Services.
Eric Schantzenbach has been appointed vice president of change leadership. Combining priorities of waste elimination, problem-solving and employee engagement, this role serves as one of the strategic leads for continuous improvement adoption and implementation across the organization. He previously served as administrator of diagnostic and therapeutic services at Nemours Children’s Health System.
