Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Health officials confirmed Aug. 6 that system President and CEO Howard Grant, MD, will retire in September, The Boston Globe reports.
Dr. Grant's retirement, effective Sept. 30, comes amid the five-hospital system's decision to merge with four other healthcare organizations, including Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to form a new 13-hospital system.
The proposed merger, announced last year, is awaiting final approval from the state. The Health Policy Commission — the state's healthcare watchdog agency — released a preliminary report in July noting the planned deal would increase healthcare costs by up to $191.3 million annually.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey also signaled she may push for limits to the deal, which if successful would create a new system larger than Boston-based Partners HealthCare, currently the state's largest healthcare organization.
When the merger was announced last year, Dr. Grant, 66, noted he planned to retire and move back to Philadelphia to be with family, the report states. If the merger is successful, Dr. Grant's role will be phased out. Beth Israel Deaconess President and CEO Kevin Tabb, MD, is slated to run the new system, Beth Israel Lahey Health.
Dr. Grant joined Lahey Health in 2010 as CEO of Burlington-based Lahey Hospital & Medical Center. He became president and CEO of the system in 2012, The Boston Globe reports.
"The eight years that I have spent at Lahey Health have been deeply rewarding both personally and professionally," Dr. Grant told the publication in a prepared statement.
Lahey Health officials revealed Richard Nesto, MD, CMO of Lahey Health, will serve as interim president and CEO of the system once Dr. Grant steps down next month.
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