Atlantic Health System is welcoming a new leader to its executive team, whose role will help patients better take advantage of system-wide resources while strengthening the bonds within that network.
Mathew
Dr. Suja Mathew joins the Morristown-based provider as executive vice president, chief clinical officer, bringing with her decades of experience in clinical leadership and physician development.
Though the duties Mathew is responsible have previously been part of Atlantic Health’s operations, her appointment as chief clinical officer marks a realignment, according to the system, as it continues to enhance its focus on delivering innovative and high quality care. In a May 23 hiring announcement, Atlantic Health said Mathew will focus on three key areas as CCO: optimizing patient access to the system’s full network of care, elevating its research and academic programs, and continuing AHS’s commitment to high-quality care.
“I want every patient to know that no matter where and how you enter our system, you can have access to the best that Atlantic has to offer,” Mathew said in a statement. “Delivering extraordinary caring across our entire network means we help patients and their families stay healthy or recover from illness in the right environment at the right time and at the right cost.
“Furthermore, our research programs bring cutting edge therapies to our patients and allow us to contribute to the creation of medical knowledge. Our educational programs ensure that we impact medicine for generations to come,” she added.
Mathew comes to the role from Cook County, Ill., where she served as chair of medicine for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, overseeing inpatient and ambulatory internal medicine, dermatology and neurology services system-wide, inclusive of the 464-bed teaching hospital Stroger Hospital of Cook County, the 25-bed community hospital Provident Hospital of Cook County, the Ambulatory Community Health Network, and the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center.
She also has experience leading one of the nation’s largest internal medicine residency programs, fellowships in nine internal medicine sub-specialties, residencies in preventive medicine and dermatology, and clerkship programs for medical students from Rush Medical College, Rosalind Franklin University, and Midwestern University, AHS said.
Nationally, Mathew is known as a leader in physician education, serves on the board of regents for the American College of Physicians and is chair of its Health and Public Policy Committee. The latter position finds her driving the crafting of ACP mission statements and setting field-wide health care policy. She is also a delegate to the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates, that organization’s legislative and policy-making body.
Gragnolati
“The Atlantic Health System team is proud of our culture of inquiry and constantly searching for new ways to improve lives within the communities we serve,” said Atlantic Health President and CEO Brian Gragnolati. “As a leader who has devoted her career to building strong relationships between patients and caregivers, Suja is a perfect fit for Atlantic Health System. I look forward to working with her on behalf of our patients, their families and our entire team.”
Atlantic Health’s team is comprised of more than 18,000 members and 4,800 affiliated physicians serving 12 counties and 5.5 million people across its seven hospitals, more than 400 sites of care and through its partnership with CentraState Healthcare System. The system has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University and houses the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers. It also includes Atlantic Medical Group, which itself is part of the Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network with Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners; 23 urgent care centers, Atlantic Visiting Nurse and Atlantic Anywhere Virtual Visits; the Atlantic Mobile Health transportation fleet; and leads the Healthcare Transformation Consortium, a partnership of six regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability and is a founding member of the PIER Consortium – Partners in Innovation, Education, and Research – a streamlined clinical trial system that will expand access to groundbreaking research across five health systems in the region.”
Mathew has been chair of Doctors for a Hunger Free America since 2019. According to Atlantic Health, she is passionate about health equity and addressing the needs of marginalized communities.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:07 p.m. EST on May 24, 2022, to include additional details about the chief clinical officer role at Atlantic Health System.
