COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Hospital Association, the united voice of Ohio’s 220 hospitals and 13 health systems, announced new officers and welcomed three new members to its Board of Trustees for next year.

Bruce White, CEO, Knox Community Hospital (Mount Vernon) will chair the board beginning Jan. 1. Mike Louge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, OhioHealth (Columbus) is chairman-elect and Ed Roth, president and CEO, Aultman Health Foundation (Canton) will serve as secretary/treasurer. Kevin Webb, chief acute and post-acute care officer, ProMedica (Toledo) transitions to immediate past chair. Board officers serve one-year terms.

New trustees-at-large elected by OHA membership include Randy Arnett, president and CEO, Southern Ohio Medical Center (Portsmouth); Ed Lamb, president and CEO, Mount Carmel Health System (Columbus); and David Phillips, CEO, Barnesville Hospital (Barnesville).

All 2018 board terms begin Jan. 1.

The OHA Board of Trustees sets policy and strategic direction for matters affecting hospitals throughout Ohio. The board includes representatives from small and large hospitals, urban and rural hospitals, teaching facilities, and independent facilities and health care systems. The board consists of four officers, the OHA president and CEO and 14 trustees-at-large.

“Health care reform and the economics of health care remain a focal point for consumers, policy makers and our member hospitals,” said Mike Abrams, OHA president and CEO. “These volatile times require strong leadership. I look forward to working with Bruce and the OHA Board to advance an advocacy agenda on behalf of our members confronting significant changes proposed for Medicare and Medicaid programs that insure millions of Ohioans, and as we confront our state’s challenges with opioids and infant mortality.”

White has served as CEO of Knox Community Hospital in Mount Vernon since September 2006. He joined the hospital in July 1996 and has served in the positions including assistant administrator, vice-president of support and ancillary services and director of information services.

Returning OHA Board members for 2018 include:

Mike Abrams, president and CEO, OHA (Columbus) [ex-officio trustee]

Ray Chorey, president and CEO, Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center (Cambridge)

Mark Dooley, president and CEO, Wilson Health (Sidney)

Patti Finn, CEO, Fulton County Health Center (Wauseon)

Steve Glass, chief financial officer, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

(Cleveland)

Mandy Goble, president and CEO, Mary Rutan Hospital (Bellefontaine)

Mike Keating, president and CEO, The Christ Hospital Health Network (Cincinnati)

Rick Lofgren, MD, president and CEO, UC Health (Cincinnati)

Fred Manchur, president and CEO, Kettering Health Network (Dayton)

David McQuaid, CEO, The Ohio State University Health System, and COO, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus)

Brian Smith, COO, Mercy Health (Cincinnati)

John Walsh, CEO, Affinity Medical Center

(Massillon)

Established in 1915, OHA represents 220 hospitals and 13 health systems throughout Ohio that employ 250,000 Ohioans and contribute $27.8 billion to Ohio’s economy along with $3.61 billion in net community benefit. OHA is the nation’s first state hospital association and is recognized nationally for its patient safety and health care quality initiatives and environmental sustainability programs. Guided by a mission to collaborate with member hospitals and health systems to ensure a healthy Ohio, the work of OHA centers on three strategic initiatives: advocacy, economic sustainability, and patient safety and quality.

The association founded the OHA Institute for Health Innovation and OHA Solutions hospital staffing program, and is a co-founder of the Ohio Health Information Partnership and the Ohio Patient Safety Institute.