The Center for Health Affairs Enhances Governance Structure to Support Expanded Collaboration Across Hospital and Community Leaders

In support of The Center for Health Affairs’ mission to improve the health and well-being of the community, beginning this year the organization modified its governance structure to bring together two of its boards of directors. The Community Health Affairs Board of Directors, comprised of community leaders, has joined with The Center for Health Affairs Board, which has been comprised primarily of hospital leaders. Bringing these two bodies together underscores The Center’s purpose of convening stakeholders across the community to amplify collective impact.

“We’re excited to bring these two boards together to not only improve efficiency and maximize the valuable time of our directors, but to put an even stronger focus on improving our community programming,” said Brian Lane, president and CEO of The Center for Health Affairs.

With this change, the Community Health Affairs Board members will serve as the Programming & Community Outreach Committee of The Center’s Board — one of four new committees created. This committee will be led by Joy Johnson, MPA, executive director, Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc, who has served as chair of the Community Health Affairs Board and has been named chair of the Programming & Community Outreach Committee for a two-year term.

“The merging of these two boards and the creation of the new committees will undoubtedly allow us to make an even greater impact through our community programs,” said Johnson. “Bringing together these community and hospital leaders on a single board ensures that all of these voices are present in the critical conversations that can greatly shape the future of our community.”

The Community Health Affairs members joining The Center’s Board of Directors are:

• Joy D. Johnson, chair, Community Health Affairs
• William E. Finn, vice chair, Community Health Affairs
• Orion Bell, director
• Pamela Budak, director
• Julie Idoine, director
• Shannon Fogarty Jerse, director
• Anne E. Nelson, director
• Allison Witt Poulios, director

In compliance with the organization’s bylaws, the Community Health Affairs Board, which oversees the 501(c)(6) subsidiary of The Center for Health Affairs, the 501(c)(3) parent, will continue to conduct procedural meetings twice annually.

About the Directors and Committee Chairs:

Joy Johnson, MPA, is the executive director of Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc., a nonprofit community development corporation dedicated to empowering citizens and revitalizing underserved neighborhoods on Cleveland’s east side. She holds a bachelor's degree in communication arts from Allegheny College and a Master of Public Administration with a nonprofit management certificate from Cleveland State University.

William E. Finn, MBA, serving as president & CEO of Hospice of the Western Reserve since 2011, has dedicated over 40 years of his career to hospice and palliative care. Finn has twice been the chair of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State and served on the Board of Trustees for 21 years. A member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he has presented at the state and national levels on hospice and healthcare issues and holds a Master of Business Administration from the State University of New York.

Orion Bell, MBA, is president and CEO of Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging. He holds more than 30 years of leadership experience in nonprofit management and services for older adults, people with disabilities, and family caregivers. His work includes a focus on collaboration between healthcare providers and community services organizations to address social determinants of health, quality of care, and health outcomes.

Pamela Budak, MSSA, LISW-S, is the executive director of Bluestone Child and Adolescent Hospital. She has served the mental health field for over 25 years as a licensed independent social worker with the supervisory designation (LISW-S) and for much of her career, Budak has worked as a child and family therapist. Budak’s work has focused on improving the health outcomes of young people in the Greater Cleveland community.

Julie Idoine, FACHE, is the regional vice president for Select Medical. In this role, she provides leadership for 500 post-acute beds and 2,000 team members and is responsible for the quality, clinical and financial operations for both critical illness recovery/long-term acute care and acute rehabilitation hospitals. With Select since 2016, Idoine previously developed the geriatric service line at JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, Texas. She holds a Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Shannon Fogarty Jerse serves as deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer for the Sisters of Charity Health System. With more than 25 years of experience, Jerse arrived at the Sisters of Charity Health System from Cleveland Clinic, where she served as in-house counsel to Cleveland Clinic regional hospitals. Prior to that, she spent eight years as in-house counsel at University Hospitals. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Anne Nelson is the assistant dean of student services of the Monte Ahuja College of Business at Cleveland State University. In her role, she is responsible for generating and maintaining enrollment, working with faculty to enhance the business education curriculum, overseeing the college’s undergraduate student engagement services, leading the academic advising teams, creating career development and exploration programs, and administering the college’s scholarship program and petitions.

Allison Witt Poulios, MPA, is senior vice president & chief government relations officer for MetroHealth. In this role, she oversees the federal, state, and local government relations strategy for the hospital system and advises MetroHealth leadership to effectively respond to and shape legislation and public policy that could impact the organization. She has more than 20 years of experience in state and local government and most recently served as chief of staff to an Ohio member of Congress. Poulios received a master’s degree in public administration from Ohio University and a bachelor's degree from Wittenberg University.