Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health tapped Cliff Deveny, MD, to serve as interim president and CEO, following the resignation of Thomas Malone, MD, at the end of January 2017.
Dr. Deveny has previously worked at Summa Health, serving in numerous roles, including president of Summa Physicians and vice president of clinical services and service lines.
Having left Summa in 2011, Dr. Deveny joining Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, where he served as senior vice president for physician services and clinical integration, according to Crain's Cleveland Business. Most recently, Dr. Deveny was president of Charlottesville, Va.-based Locus Health, a software provider focused on population health. He will assume his new role at Summa on March 13, 2017.
Dr. Deveny replaces Dr. Malone, who resigned in the midst of significant criticism from physicians and staff. The issues between the leader and staff began when Summa switched emergency room physician groups at the beginning of 2017 with little notice. Soon after, around 250 physicians voted "no confidence" in Dr. Malone and health system leadership. Despite Dr. Malone issuing an apology and the board promising to make changes, he decided to resign stating that "it became clear to me that my presence may be a distraction from our goals."
Dr. Deveny will lead the health system on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is named.