VCU Health System restructures executive leadership

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Virginia Commonwealth University Health System today announced it is expanding its executive team to provide focused leadership in key strategic areas related to safety, quality and affordability of patient care and a new inpatient facility for Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

woman in business attire.
Deborah Davis

Deborah Davis has been appointed Chief of Strategic Initiatives, effective Jan. 2. She will be responsible for the completion of new inpatient facilities for children’s hospital and adults, the outpatient facility now under construction and other new facility projects and updates. Davis also will continue to lead collaborations with other health systems.

“Deborah has been highly successful in driving our growth and access through strategic partnerships and our strategic master facilities plan,” said Marsha D. Rappley, M.D., CEO of VCU Health System. “I am confident that her continued focus on these critical areas will set new standards for health care delivery in the commonwealth and beyond.”

Davis has served as CEO of VCU Hospitals and Clinics since 2016. Her responsibilities for inpatient and outpatient operations will be transferred to Shane M. Cerone, who assumes the position of interim CEO of VCU Hospitals and Clinics, also effective Jan. 2. Rappley said Cerone’s initial focus will be patient safety and quality care while also improving effectiveness, efficiency and affordability.

Man in suit.
Shane M. Cerone

“Shane comes to VCU Health System with a wealth of experience as a senior executive leading hospitals and physician practices in academic health systems,” Rappley said. “He is known for building successful programs to improve quality and patient-centered care, while also reducing costs through collaborative physician-hospital relationships, innovation and continuous improvement.”

Cerone is founder and CEO of Health Market Solutions, a health care consulting firm that provides interim CEO services and assists health systems in developing solutions to improve care quality and efficiency. Cerone’s recent projects include serving as interim president of SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and Mercy Iowa City. Before that, he served as chief operating officer and then president of Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich. He also oversaw hospital operations at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.