Chandler M. Ralph has served as president and CEO of Adirondack Health in Saranac Lake, N.Y., since March 1995. Adirondack Health is comprised of two hospital sites, two nursing homes and four primary care outreach clinics.
Prior to taking the helm at Adirondack Health, Ms. Ralph served as president and CEO of Mercy Hospital in Watertown, N.Y., for five years. She has also been a senior manager at Ernst and Young in New York City and Albany, N.Y.
Throughout her career in healthcare, Ms. Ralph has received several awards and recognitions of excellence, including the American Hospital Association Grassroots Champion Award for New York State, which she received in 2006 for her work generating community activity supporting Adirondack's mission. Under her direction, Adirondack Health hosted many community forums to strengthen the organization's community tie. Additionally, she worked to expand access to health insurance in the region through an Uninsured Task Force that worked to reduce the overall number of uninsured people in the area.
Furthering her grassroots-style leadership, Ms. Ralph is extremely active in the community. She has been a member of the Saranac Lake Rotary since 1995 and even served as president from 1998 to 1999. She became a board member for the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York this year and has previously served on the board of the American Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State.
Additionally, Ms. Ralph is the founding chair of the Helena Ptochia Foundation, which raised capital and operational funds to build and operate an obstetrical fistula hospital in Ghana.
Ms. Ralph earned a master's degree in management and industrial engineering and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. She is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
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