RWJBarnabas Health executive Bill Arnold has stepped into a new leadership role as chair of the New Jersey Hospital Association.

NJHA announced Arnold’s installment Jan. 25, which came as part of the appointment of new officers and members at the group’s 105th Annual Meeting.

In addition to serving as executive vice president and Southern Region president for RWJBarnabas, Arnold is CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. He succeeds St. Mary’s General Hospital President and CEO Edward Condit, who served as board chair in 2023.

Arnold takes over as hospitals face a number of challenges, with NJHA highlighting workforce shortages, sustaining financial stability and meeting rising needs for services.

Speaking during the annual meeting, held at the NJHA Conference and Event Center in Princeton, President and CEO Cathy Bennett cited factors transforming health care. Among them are artificial intelligence, breakthrough drugs with higher price tags, demand for mental health care and the increasing complexity of patients’ ailments.

“The work we do has never been more important – nor more imperiled,” she said, pointing to two challenges in particular.

“Hospitals anchor their communities with quality care, economic opportunity and community health investments. … Our attention is focused on two priorities that are essential to every aspect of health care: creating real solutions to the historic workforce shortage and protecting the financial stability of our systems of care,” added Bennett.

According to the new chair, NJHA offers a collaborative outlet to navigate an evolving health care landscape.

“NJHA, led by Cathy Bennett and her team, tirelessly advocates for our industry so we can provide the best service and address issues that impact our communities as barriers to health,” Arnold said in a statement. “Building on the legacy of people who have served before me, many of whom I consider mentors, I am honored to serve in this role and work to make sure New Jersey sets the standard for addressing the critical shortage of health care professionals by protecting our current workforce, investing in a pipeline for new professionals and partnering to ensure these actions are sustained.”

“NJHA has a proven track record of success through collaboration around urgent issues,” Arnold continued. Speaking during Maternal Health Awareness week, he highlighted the work NJHA has done to help improve maternal health outcomes in the state. “Our work matters for the people of New Jersey.”

The team

Under Arnold, the full slate of NJHA board officers includes:

• Vice Chair – Mark Stauder, COO, Hackensack Meridian Health
• Treasurer – Deborah Visconi, president and CEO, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center
• Secretary – Dr. Robert Brenner, president, Valley Health System

Health care leaders appointed to a new 2024 term on the NJHA board are:

• Sam Bayoumy, interim CEO, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation – West Orange
• James Demetriades, CEO, Penn Medicine Princeton Health
• Stephen Dumke, president, Christian Health
• Regina Foley, executive vice president, chief nursing officer and chief clinical transformation and integration officer, Hackensack Meridian Health
• Warren Geller, president and CEO, Englewood Health
• Patricia O’Keefe, president, Morristown Medical Center; senior vice president and chief nursing executive, Atlantic Health System

Founded in 1918, NJHA boasts 400 members from hospitals, health systems and other health providers in New Jersey.