Under Dennis Keefe's leadership, the Cambridge (Mass.) Health Alliance has grown to a $1 billion integrated healthcare delivery system. In his eight years as CEO, Mr. Keefe has led the system in adding a new emergency department at its Whidden Hospital campus in Everett, Mass., adding a new breast center at Cambridge Hospital and continually placing the health system on the forefront of medical information technology.
Mr. Keefe also led CHA through a significant service reconfiguration plan that stabilized the foundation of the system and helped ensure that the system will provide excellent care going forward. Prior to joining CHA, Mr. Keefe worked in several academic teaching facilities and community hospitals and held COO and CFO positions. Before being named CHA's top executive, he served the health system as associate administrator of professional services and COO, managing the day-to-day operations of a then-multi-million dollar system.
Mr. Keefe also serves as chair of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, where he is instrumental in solidifying the MHA as a leading voice for state hospitals and health systems. On his appointment to the MHA, he said the association must embrace the principles of reform that rationalize hospital payment systems and provide transparency to the public without negative impacting providers. "We must have a clear and consistent message that transparently speaks to what the true drivers of medical inflation really are," he says. "Insurers have so far been able to successfully confuse this message, and we need to meet this challenge head on."
He also emphasized the need to promote health in healthcare workers to set an example for the American public. "As major employers, hospitals should place a greater focus on wellness to drive down healthcare costs by keeping our own workers healthy," she says. "Given the high cost of disease related to obesity and smoking alone, hospitals, as one of the state's largest employers, can surely have more impact to bend that curve."
Mr. Keefe was honored with a lifetime achievement award in 2008 from Massachusetts Health Care for All organization for his efforts to improve access to quality care in his state. In 2009, he received the American College of Healthcare Executives' Massachusetts Healthcare Executive of the Year award.
Mr. Keefe earned his MBA with a focus on healthcare administration from Northeastern University.
Read more on notable hospital leaders:
-Hospital Leader to Know: Glenn Hackbarth, JD, Chair of MedPAC
-Hospital Leader to Know: Dr. Francis Collins of the NIH
Mr. Keefe also led CHA through a significant service reconfiguration plan that stabilized the foundation of the system and helped ensure that the system will provide excellent care going forward. Prior to joining CHA, Mr. Keefe worked in several academic teaching facilities and community hospitals and held COO and CFO positions. Before being named CHA's top executive, he served the health system as associate administrator of professional services and COO, managing the day-to-day operations of a then-multi-million dollar system.
Mr. Keefe also serves as chair of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, where he is instrumental in solidifying the MHA as a leading voice for state hospitals and health systems. On his appointment to the MHA, he said the association must embrace the principles of reform that rationalize hospital payment systems and provide transparency to the public without negative impacting providers. "We must have a clear and consistent message that transparently speaks to what the true drivers of medical inflation really are," he says. "Insurers have so far been able to successfully confuse this message, and we need to meet this challenge head on."
He also emphasized the need to promote health in healthcare workers to set an example for the American public. "As major employers, hospitals should place a greater focus on wellness to drive down healthcare costs by keeping our own workers healthy," she says. "Given the high cost of disease related to obesity and smoking alone, hospitals, as one of the state's largest employers, can surely have more impact to bend that curve."
Mr. Keefe was honored with a lifetime achievement award in 2008 from Massachusetts Health Care for All organization for his efforts to improve access to quality care in his state. In 2009, he received the American College of Healthcare Executives' Massachusetts Healthcare Executive of the Year award.
Mr. Keefe earned his MBA with a focus on healthcare administration from Northeastern University.
Read more on notable hospital leaders:
-Hospital Leader to Know: Glenn Hackbarth, JD, Chair of MedPAC
-Hospital Leader to Know: Dr. Francis Collins of the NIH