Broadlane, Inc., a cost management consultant and provider, announced that Patrick T. Ryan, Broadlane's chairman, will assume the additional responsibilities of CEO. Thomas Sherry, Broadlane's COO and a longtime member of the company's management team, will take on the additional responsibilities of president. David C. Ricker, Broadlane's president/CEO, will step down from his full-time role, but he will continue as a member of the board of directors.
Longtime Orlando Health spokesman Joe Brown is leaving his job as media relations manager at the healthcare system, effective Feb. 12. Brown, who has worked for 25 years at Orlando Health, is relocating with his wife to Georgia. In 1985, Brown joined Orlando Health as the organization's first media relations representative.
Alicare Medical Management, an affiliate of Amalgamated Life Insurance Company, announced the appointment of Pamela Gould, RN, as sales executive. Before joining AMM, Gould served as the Regional Sales Director for Beacon Hospice, in Boston, MA. She also served as National Sales Director for LifePlans, Inc. of Waltham, MA.
The Board of Directors of the eHealth Initiative and Foundation announced the appointment of Jennifer Covich Bordenick as CEO, effective immediately. Covich has served the eHealth Initiative since 2001. Covich most recently served as Interim CEO and COO. Before joining eHI, Covich spent four years at the National Committee for Quality Assurance as director of policy and product development.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama's Board of Directors has elected Terry Kellogg to serve as president/COO. Simultaneously, Phillip Pope, president/CEO, has announced his retirement effective June 30. Kellogg, currently the company's executive vice president and COO, came to BCBSA 28 years ago as vice president and chief actuary. He has served as a senior officer for the last 12 years and was named executive vice president in 2002. As part of this transition, Blue Cross also announced that its board elected Tim Kirkpatrick as the company's new executive vice President. Kirkpatrick, currently senior vice president, has been with the company for 33 years, including the past 10 years as a senior officer.
Behind the scenes, Democratic party leaders have nearly settled on a strategy to salvage the massive health reform legislation. They are meeting almost daily to plot legislative moves while gently persuading rank-and-file lawmakers to back a sweeping bill. This effort is deliberately being undertaken quietly as Democrats work to focus attention on more-popular initiatives to bring down unemployment, the Los Angeles Times reports.