Bassett Medical Center names new president and CEO

COOPERSTOWN — The board of trustees of Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown has appointed Dr. Vance Brown as president and CEO of the Bassett Healthcare Network and Bassett Medical Center, effective July 1.

Dr. Brown comes to Bassett from Portland, Maine–based MaineHealth, where he has been chief medical officer (CMO) since 2008, Bassett said in a news release.

MaineHealth is the largest integrated health system in the three northern New England states with eight member hospitals, three affiliated hospitals, and annual revenue of about $2 billion, Bassett added.

The Bassett board of trustees has been preparing for the transition in leadership of the Bassett system since the time that [current president and CEO] Dr. William Streck announced he would be retiring, Dr. Thomas Morris, board chairman, said in the news release.

 “Finding a successor to Dr. Streck, whose vision and leadership have shaped the growth and development of Bassett for the past 30 years, was not easy. However, we believe we have found a strong leader who can further advance Bassett’s mission of providing high quality care in a challenging health-care environment. We are delighted that Dr. Brown will be joining the organization,” Morris said.

Brown calls his appointment at Bassett “a privilege.” 

“The organization is highly regarded as a leader in health-system integration and in rural health-care delivery, and I look forward to working with the employees, physicians, and community to continue building on that reputation and assuring a strong future for the organization,” Brown said.

As CMO at MaineHealth, Brown has been responsible for all medical issues at the corporate health-system level, Bassett said.

They included clinical strategic planning, integration initiatives, and clinical quality and safety improvement across the spectrum of care for the health system.

He was also senior medical officer for the Maine Medical Center Physician Hospital Organization, with 1,100 physicians, according to Bassett.

Prior to returning to his native state of Maine, Brown also served as the chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, according to Bassett.

Bassett Healthcare Network is a health-care system serving a 5,600-square-mile region in upstate New York. The organization includes six corporately affiliated hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities, community- and school-based health centers, and health partners in related fields, the organization said.

Bassett Medical Center is a 180-bed, acute-care, inpatient teaching facility in Cooperstown that employs 3,000 people.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com