Ian C. Barrett, MBA, EdD, SPHR, CCP, has been named chief human resources officer (CHRO) for Kaleida Health following a national search.
An HR veteran with 31 years of experience, Dr. Barrett comes to Kaleida Health from BJC HealthCare, one of the largest nonprofit integrated academic healthcare systems in the United States, providing services in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and southeast Missouri regions. With net revenues of $6 billion and more than 30,000 employees, BJC includes 15 hospitals and multiple community health locations.
There, Dr. Barrett served as regional vice president of human resources, where he led HR business partners and employee relations for three academic hospitals with $3.4B revenue, 1,760 beds, and 14,000 caregivers, including 4,200 registered nurses.
Dr. Barrett’s previous executive HR roles included associate vice president of human resources and talent management at University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) in Galveston, TX; associate vice chancellor of human resources at University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA; and associate vice president of human resources at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Barrett to the Kaleida Health family,” said Don Boyd, president and CEO of Kaleida Health. “As a national leader in HR, Dr. Barrett has significant experience in aligning people priorities to strategy in complex, multisite and matrix organizations like Kaleida Health. He will be instrumental in helping Kaleida Health create sustainable initiatives to recruit and retain talent as well as further engage our employees and improve the culture of quality care across the organization.”
Dr. Barrett received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, his Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and his Doctor of Education in Adult Education from the University of Georgia. He is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Certified Compensation Professional (CCP).
Karen Swartz, vice president of human resources, has served as interim CHRO since April 2021. “We thank Karen for leading our Human Resources team over the last 16 months,” added Boyd. “As a tenured HR professional and longtime Kaleida Health employee, Karen has helped our organization navigate through challenging times as we’ve continued to face the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine mandate, nationwide staffing challenges and our labor negotiations.”
Swartz will return to her leadership role in Human Resources once Dr. Barrett arrives. He will begin his new role on October 17, 2022.