AHA Healthcare Strategy Group Elects 2007 Leaders

David Marlowe Tapped as President-Elect

Chicago (September 7, 2006) - The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) of the American Hospital Association today announced its 2007 election results for president-elect and board of directors. The results were announced at SHSMD's Annual Conference in Phoenix, Ariz.

David L. Marlowe is the 2007 president-elect and will become president of the 4,400-member organization of healthcare strategy professionals on January 1, 2008. Marlowe is principal of Strategic Marketing Concepts, a healthcare marketing consulting firm based in Ellicott City, Md. He will succeed 2007 president Ruth Colby, chief strategy officer and vice president of business development, Silver Cross Hospital, Joliet, Ill.

Marlowe is a well-known healthcare strategy and marketing executive with more than 25 years of experience in consulting and provider-based settings. He has served on SHSMD's board of directors since 2001, has chaired the Membership Development and Finance Committees, and has presented at every SHSMD Annual Conference since the organization was formed in 1996. A prolific author, he has published more than 30 articles, and his reference guide, Healthcare Marketing Plans That Work (SHSMD, 1999), is a perennial best seller. In 2005 Marlowe was the recipient of SHSMD's Award for Individual Professional Excellence, the highest honor the Society can bestow on a member.

The following newly elected board members will begin three-year terms on January 1, 2007:

• Joel English, executive vice president, BVK, Milwaukee, Wis. (elected to a second term)
• Anthony V. Gardner, vice president, business development and marketing, Foote Health System, Jackson, Mich.
• Jean M. Hitchcock, vice president, marketing and communications, Scripps Health, San Diego, Calif.
• Mark Parrington, senior vice president, research and innovation, Centegra Health System, Woodstock, Ill.

Christine Gallery, vice president of planning and market development, Emerson Hospital, Concord, Mass., was elected to a one-year term to fill the unexpired term created by the election of David Marlowe.

In addition, the following new board members were appointed to one-year terms as at-large members:

• Geoffrey Crabtree, senior vice president, Methodist Healthcare System, San Antonio, Texas
• Brian Frisch, vice president, planning and marketing, Solucient, LLC, Durham, N.C.

The new directors will join the following continuing board members:

• Susan Alcorn, SHSMD immediate past president and chief communications officer, Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pa.
• Diane Caslow, vice president of strategic and business planning, MedStar Health, Columbia, Md.
• Dalal Haldeman, Ph.D., vice president of marketing and communications, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Md.
• David A. Kantor, president, Kantor Consulting Group, Shaker Heights, Ohio
• Rob Klein, principal, Klein & Partners, Hinsdale, Ill.
• Tess Niehaus, vice president of marketing, communications and sales, Christian Hospital/BJC Healthcare, St. Louis, Mo.
• Joyce Ross, senior vice president of communications, Catholic Health Initiatives, Denver, Colo.
• Maria Royce, vice president of community relations, WellSpan Health, York, Pa.

About the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development
The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development is the premier organization for healthcare planners, marketers, and communications and public relations professionals. A personal membership group of the American Hospital Association, SHSMD serves more than 4,400 members and is the largest organization in the nation devoted to serving the needs of healthcare strategy professionals. The Society is committed to helping its members meet the future with more knowledge and opportunity as their organizations work to improve health status and quality of life in their communities. For more information, visit www.shsmd.org.