Howard P. Kern is the new president and CEO of Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare as of March 4.
Kern succeeds David L. Bernd, who retired after 21 years as CEO.
Sentara is a nonprofit system with 12 hospitals, four medical groups with more than 900 providers throughout Virginia and North Carolina, a health plan with more than 450,000 members, and life care and home care services.
Kern has identified three key areas of focus which will guide his tenure as CEO: clinical performance improvement, innovation and growth and customer centricity, according to a release.
Michael V. Gentry, current senior corporate vice president of Sentara, was appointed COO in January.
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Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.