To help facilitate various community health services and health system transformation initiatives, AHI (Adirondack Health Institute) is pleased to announce the hiring of five staff members.
RuthAnn Craven joins AHI as Transformation Coach. She brings more than 20 years of health care administration experience to her new role. Prior to joining the AHI team, Craven served as a Project Coordinator for Nathan Littauer Primary/Specialty Care Centers. In her new role, she will be responsible for supporting patient-centered care and care coordination in primary care centers through training and coaching of providers and staff in clinical transformation and quality improvement methods in order to improve health care outcomes and reduce disparities.Craven earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Siena College, and a Master of Science degree in Health Administration from Russell Sage College.
Paula Jacobson joins AHI as a Project Manager. Prior to joining AHI, her professional experiences included Business Analyst at 3M Health Information Systems, and Community Health Policy and Healthcare Trustees of New York State intern at the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). In her new role, Jacobson will manage projects related to the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program, specifically initiatives to create an integrated delivery system and medical village in the Adirondack region. Jacobson earned a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY College of Buffalo, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, with a specialization in Health Care from Sage Graduate School.
Deborah LaRose joins AHI as Manager, Project Performance. Prior to joining AHI, she served as a Project Manager for Fingerpaint Marketing and Palio+Ignite. In her new position, LaRose will provide leadership and coordination for multiple performance and quality improvement initiatives underway in a nine-county region of Northern New York. LaRose earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from SUNY Plattsburgh, and a Master’s degree in Psychology from the Georgia School of Professional Psychology.
Susan Omiecinski joins AHI as an Enrollment Specialist for the Enrollment Assistance Service and Education (EASE) Program. Prior to joining AHI, she served as a Home and Family Services Program Director for the Washington County Economic Opportunity Council. In her new role, Omiecinski will assist individuals, families and small business owners enroll in health insurance through the NY State of Health Marketplace. Omiecinski earned an AAS degree in Business Administration cum laude from SUNY Adirondack and attended the NYS Community Action Association’s Emerging Leader Institute.
Leza Wood has been hired as the Executive Director of the Hudson Mohawk Area Health Education Center (HM AHEC). Prior to joining the HM AHEC, she held the position of Workforce and Professional Development Administrator for SUNY Adirondack’s Office of Continuing Education. In her new role, Wood will provide leadership, day-to-day management, and fiscal oversight of the HM AHEC. She will set programs and services in place to support recruitment, diversity, distribution and retention of health care workers who have the necessary competencies to improve health care service delivery in the ten-county region covered by AHEC. Wood earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management, with a concentration in Training and Development from SUNY Empire State College. She is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer.
