By Tracey Drury – Reporter, Buffalo Business First
Jul 28, 2022
Don Boyd, Kaleida Health’s new president and CEO, has wasted no time filling out his leadership team.
Cheryl Klass has been tapped as chief operating officer and chief nursing executive, taking over the COO post from Boyd just weeks after she expected to leave an interim hospital president post.
Klass, who retired last year after 45 years in health care, has been serving as interim president since February at Buffalo General Medical Center and the Gates Vascular Institute after the departure this spring of Christopher Lane, who took a new hospital job in Virginia.
She had expected to return to retirement after last week’s announcement that Beth Hughes will take over as president in October. That was until Boyd was named CEO in mid-July and convinced her to stay.
“It’s vital that we have an individual with the experience and expertise and knowledge of the organization to seamlessly step right in so as we come out of negotiations from the new contract, we can pivot,” Boyd said.
Klass previously served as senior vice president of operations for the system, overseeing both Buffalo General, the GVI and Highpointe on Michigan, as well as the former Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. She started her career in nursing and also spent several years as an executive within the Catholic Health system in Buffalo.
With decades of clinical and administrative experience, Klass brings skills to the job that would have been difficult to find elsewhere, Boyd said, and she’s someone that both the clinical staff and management know can do the job well.
“Everyone’s thrilled. With Cheryl’s experience operationally and clinically, her knowledge of the organization and the team and the close work she’s done with our nursing leadership over the years, it’s a tremendous value to the organization,” he said.
The COO appointment is among several leadership changes that round out Boyd’s team:
- Dr. Michael Mineo will become chief medical officer for the Kaleida system, making permanent an interim post announced in March. Mineo, who continues to practice, previously served as CMO for Buffalo General and in the same post at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital and DeGraff Medical Park since last fall.
- Judy Baumgartner, president of Millard Suburban and DeGraff, is taking on additional responsibility for the Kaleida Health Laboratories division, a role she previously held while president of Kaleida’s Visiting Nursing Association division.
- Allegra Jaros, president of Oishei Children’s Hospital, will take on responsibility for long-term care operations, including oversight for HighPointe on Michigan and the DeGraff Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facility.
“That will give each of them additional responsibility, development and growth and will allow Cheryl some additional capacity and operations with nursing,” Boyd said. - Dr.Michael Beecher was named chief medical officer at Buffalo General and the GVI, a role he has held since June on an interim basis. He was previously director of hospitalist services at Millard Suburban and chief medical officer for Infinity Medical of Western New York.
- Dr. Raheel Ahmad was named chief medical officer at Millard Suburban and DeGraff, a role he has held on an interim basis since March. He was previously site medical director at Millard Suburban.
The executive team appointments follow the appointments of three new hospital presidents since May: Ken Morris as president of Brooks-TLC Health System; Hughes at Buffalo General; and Dr. Jill Owens as president of Upper Allegheny Health System.