Joseph McTernan, CEO of Warsaw, N.Y.-based Wyoming County Community Health System, died Jan. 24 at age 44, according to The Buffalo News.
Mr. McTernan died after a brief illness, the county-owned health system said in a statement shared with Becker's.
Mr. McTernan joined Wyoming County Community Health System in August 2019 before officially becoming CEO in January 2020.
The CEO was a "strong leadership voice" during the COVID-19 pandemic and played a significant part in securing personal protective equipment for the health system, which has about 500 employees, Rich Kosmerl, president of the health system's board of managers, told The Buffalo News.
"Joe's contributions to our health system over these past years has been invaluable and his leadership and his focus on our patients and community will be greatly missed," the health system's statement said. "Joe's leadership vision provided a firm and guiding hand with an unwavering commitment to staff and patient safety throughout the COVID-19 pandemic health crisis."
Earlier in his career, Mr. McTernan served as vice president of special operations at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, N.J. He also worked in process improvement and an administrative role at New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Hospital officials said the senior leadership team at Wyoming County Community Health System is handling day-to-day operations in the near term.