Willamette Valley Medical Center competitors

James E. Shmerling was named President and Chief Executive Officer at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center on October 1, 2015. For over three decades, Dr. Shmerling has served in management roles in children’s hospitals and is nationally recognized as a leader in issues concerning children’s health and wellness. Prior to joining Connecticut Children’s, Dr. Shmerling spent the last eight years as the Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Hospital Colorado, one of the top ranked children’s hospitals in the nation. Before that, he was the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt from 2002 to 2007. He was the Senior Vice President of Methodist Healthcare and President of Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center from 1995 to 2002, and was Le Bonheur’s Chief Operating Officer from 1991 to 1995. He served as the Associate Director of Hospitals at Indiana University Hospitals and Administrator of the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children from 1987 to 1991. Dr. Shmerling’s career in children’s hospitals began in the Children’s Hospital of Alabama where he progressed in administrative responsibilities from 1979 to1987, the last of which was as its Associate Administrator. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Education from the University of Tennessee in 1976. In 1980, he was awarded a Master of Science Degree in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Samford University in 1984 and his Doctorate of Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1999. Dr. Shmerling is a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE). He is an adjunct faculty member in the Hospital Administration programs, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Additionally, Dr. Shmerling is active in several national healthcare organizations.

As president and chief executive officer, Bill Gassen is leading efforts to tackle some of medicine’s most challenging issues, including the state of global health, breast cancer, pediatric rare diseases and type 1 diabetes. At the same time, the organization is also advancing health care through its innovative integration of genomics into primary care, the creation of an expansive biobank and the exploration of the healing powers of immunotherapy and adipose stem cells. Gassen began his career at Sanford Health in 2012 as corporate counsel and transitioned to the human resources department two years later as vice president of human resource integration and eventually became the chief human resources officer. In 2019, he was promoted to chief administrative officer with oversight of human resources, technology solutions, legal, facilities, business development and the Sanford Sports Complex. Prior to joining Sanford Health, Gassen spent several years in private legal practice. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a law degree, both from the University of South Dakota. Gassen and his wife, Jill, have five children.

David Entwistle is president and CEO of Stanford Health Care (SHC). He joined SHC in July 2016 with extensive executive experience at leading academic medical centers. Entwistle is a passionate advocate of precision health - tailoring a treatment to a patient’s specific disease or condition as well as focusing on prevention to empower patients to take charge of their health before they become ill. Among the factors that attracted him to SHC are the unparalleled technologies available in Silicon Valley that help advance health care through better application of technology for individuals. According to Entwistle, SHC is extremely well-situated to be able to apply innovative technology, such as wearable devices that track activity or monitor blood glucose levels, to improve health. Before joining SHC, he served for nine years as CEO of the University of Utah Hospital & Clinics (UUHC), the only academic medical center in the Intermountain West region. While serving at UUHC, Entwistle received the Modern Healthcare “Up and Comers Award,” for significant contributions in health care administration, management or policy. He previously served as senior vice president and chief operating officer at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wis., from 2002-2007; and as vice president of professional services and joint venture operations at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. As a recognized health care thought leader, Entwistle serves on the boards of the American Hospital Association, the AAMC Council of Teaching Hospitals, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and Vizient. He is the past chair of the Utah Hospital Association and was appointed by the governor of Utah to the state’s Medicaid Task Force. Entwistle is an avid cyclist who enjoys both road and mountain biking, often accompanied by his teenage son. He also competes in Ironman Triathlons.

Katina began her career at Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center in 1996. Since this time, she has held successive roles as interim CEO and now CEO. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration and Planning from Tennessee State University her Masters of Science in Public Health from Meharry Medical College. In addition to overseeing strategy and operations at Matthew Walker, Katina also sits on a number of advisory boards including the American Cancer Society Nashville Advisory Board, Safety Net Consortium of Middle Tennessee and the Tennessee Primary Care Association Governing Board. In her free time, Katina enjoys volunteering with her church, serving as a Girl Scout leader and hanging out with her husband and two children.