THOMAS PRISELAC, Executive in Residence – Academic Year 2007-2008
Thomas M. Priselac is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cedars-Sinai Health System -- a position he has held since January 1994.
Mr. Priselac has been associated with Cedars-Sinai since 1979. Prior to being named President and CEO, he was Executive Vice President from 1988 to 1993. Before joining Cedars-Sinai, he was on the executive staff of Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Mr. Priselac has served on many boards in the health care field and currently serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges. He also is a member of both the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Board, where he chairs the Health Care Committee, and the Charles R. Drew University Board. A past member of the American Hospital Association Board of Directors, he also formerly chaired the Hospital Association of Southern California, the California Healthcare Association, and the Association of American Medical Colleges Council of Teaching Hospitals. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the UCLA School of Public Health.
Mr. Priselac is an author and invited speaker on a variety of contemporary issues facing the health care field today, including policy issues related to the delivery and financing of health care, health care quality and safety and the adoption and implementation of information technology. He is the holder of the Warschaw/Law endowed Chair in Healthcare Leadership at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The Cedars-Sinai Health System is among the nation’s leading providers of health care services, medical education and research. Physician services are provided through the Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation, a full-time academic faculty, and an active private attending staff. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with revenues of over $1.7 billion, is the largest private hospital in the western United States and provides a full range of acute inpatient care services, rehabilitation medicine, and extensive outpatient diagnostic and treatment services. Cedars-Sinai conducts NIH and privately funded research, valued at approximately $65 million, on a broad range of research topics. The Medical Center also conducts graduate medical education in a broad range of specialties for over 310 residents and fellows.
A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Priselac obtained a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, and a master’s in Public Health, Health Services Administration and Planning, from the University of Pittsburgh.

Former Executive in Residence:
David Hunter, Executive-in-Residence Academic Year 2006-2007
As the former Chairman of Navigant Consulting, Inc.’s Healthcare Management Committee, David Hunter has directed The Hunter Group (a unit of Navigant Consulting, Inc.)’s most complex projects involving academic medical centers, public hospitals, large systems, networks, HMOs and large medical group practices. Building on the firm’s strong base of hospital turnarounds and interim management, he has been credited with leading-edge undertakings, including: development of regional networks, innovative structured relationships between the public and private sector, integration of providers and payors, sustainable system-wide performance improvements and strategic positioning. Sample projects include:

• Providing court-approved interim management/consulting support following one of the largest bankruptcies in healthcare – AHERF in Pennsylvania.

• Helping several campuses of the University of California System evaluate and pursue various strategic relationships as well as operational and financial performance improvements.

• Dramatic performance improvements of several urban academic medical centers, including George Washington University and New England Medical Center.

• Consolidation of three hospitals and identification of $50 million of performance improve¬ments for Legacy Health System of Portland, Oregon, as well as facilitating a payor provider alliance of Legacy, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oregon and physician groups.

• Creation of the vision, model and business plan for two large IDNs -- for BayCare, a three-county regional delivery system in the Tampa Bay area and the West Virginia statewide healthcare organization.

• Development of a regional integration plan and performance improvement plan for Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan.

• Merger analysis and/or implementation for Morton Plant Health System/Mease Health Care, Florida, Mercy Health Services in Farmington Hills, Michigan, UCSF Medical Center/Mount Zion Medical Center, UCSF and California Pacific Medical Center and UCLA Medical Center/Santa Monica Hospital.

• A $70 million performance improvement for California Pacific Medical Center and several significant performance improvement projects for Catholic Healthcare West.

• Turnaround and interim management team for Detroit Medical Center.

• Performance improvement plans for UMass Memorial Healthcare and VCU Health System.

David has been a leader in the healthcare field for more than 25 years. Among other positions, he held senior management positions at Durham County Hospital Corporation and Duke Universi¬ty Medical Center and simultaneously held faculty appointments at the University. He was also Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Hospital at Burlington County in Mt. Holly, NJ, and later assumed this role for Memorial's parent company, the Nexus Health Care Corporation.
David lectures and presents throughout the country on timely issues in healthcare with a focus on hospitals and health systems in academic medical centers, physician groups and community and specialty hospitals. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from Ursinus College and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh.

Thomas P. Timcho currently serves as the Executive in Residence. Mr. Timcho holds the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA.  Jefferson Regional Medical Center (JRMC) is a fully-accredited 376-bed, non-profit, acute medical care facility offering inpatient, outpatient and 24-hour emergency services.  Mr. Timcho has a long history of service to Jefferson Regional Medical Center and prior to his current position has held positions of: Interim President and Chief Executive Officer; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to his service with JRMC Mr. Timcho has served as Prinicpal for Primesolutions Healthcare, LLC.; Senior Vice President for Pitts Management Associates, Inc.; Senior Vice President and CFO for Alliance Home Health Inc.; President and CEO of UPMC Beaver Valley Hospital; President of the UPMC University Services Organization (USO);
Associate Vice President, Managed Care, UPMC; Executive Vice President and CFO for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; Executive Responsible for the Healthcare Consulting Group, Ernst & Young Consulting. 
Mr. Timcho has served with distinction in the U.S. Army.  He holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Michael Blackwood is currently President & CEO, Gateway Health Plan. He has held positions as: President, The Pilot Group which is a health care consulting firm, specializing in managed care; President, CEO, and Board Member, Health America Pennsylvania, Inc. and Assistant Administrator, Montefiore Hospital. Mr. Blackwood has served as Captain, Medical Service Corp, United States Army. He obtained a Master of Public Health degree in 1980, GSPH, Health Policy & Management (G.S.P.H.), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA and a B.A., in Psychology in 1971, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. Mr. Blackwood’s Professional Affiliations include: Adjunct Associate Professor, H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Course: Practical Aspects of Managed Care, 1996-1998. Taught course three semesters at G.S.P.H.; Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society-Omicron Chapter (elected member); Board of Directors, Pittsburgh Symphony, 1994-1996; Board of Directors, Orr Compassionate Care Center, 1995-1998; Board of Advisors, Health Policy Institute, G.S.P.H. Policy Board, PA Department of Health, Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield Foundation Board. His awards include: Distinguished Graduate Award, Alumni Association, University of Pittsburgh, G.S.P.H., 1992; in 1999, selected as one of 50 G.S.P.H. "significant contributors" to the field of public health since School's inception (1949); HEW Traineeship (Full Grant) Recipient University of Pittsburgh, G.S.P.H., 1976-1977; Meritorious Service Medal, Medical Service Corps, United States Army, 1976; Distinguished Military Graduate, LSU, 1971.

Inaugural Executive in Residence:
The Program’s inaugural Executive-in-Residence was Mr. John Zanardelli, MPH, FACHE.  John is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer for United Methodist Services for the Aging (UMSA). He has held this position since May of 1993 and has 26 years of experience in health care organizations. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director of UMSA, he served as Division Executive Director for Presbyterian Association on Aging (now Presbyterian SeniorCare), COO of Southwood Psychiatric Hospital, COO of Grane Healthcare of Pittsburgh, and was Senior Operations Officer at Oil City Area Health Center. John received his Master of Public Health in Health Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health and was formerly a licensed     Nursing Home Administrator in Pennsylvania.  He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and is active in a number of professional and teaching community service roles.  He is a member of Delta Omega, the National Public Health Honor Society and served as President of the Omicron Chapter.