Sturdy Health Leadership
- Aimee B. Brewer, MPH | President and Chief Executive Officer
- Natalie Cook, BBA | Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
- Wayne C. Gietz, MA | Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
- Robin B. Morris, MBA, CCE | Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations
- Brian Patel, MD, FACEP | Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs, Chief Medical and Quality Officer
- Amy Pfeffer, MBA, MHSA | Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
- Coleen P. Resnick, BA | Vice President and Chief Development Officer
- Lisa Salameh, MHA, BSN, RN | Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
- Denis Tanguay, MSHA, CHCIO, CDH-E | Vice President and Chief Information Officer
- Justine Zilliken, MBA, MHA, FACHE | Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
Aimee B. Brewer, MPH
President and Chief Executive Officer
About Aimee: Aimee is President and Chief Executive Officer of Sturdy Health, and a New England native. Prior to Sturdy, she served as President of the Healthcare Group of NorthBay Health in California, during which time she was named Congressional Women of the Year for her exceptional work as a key leader in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining NorthBay, Aimee held several leadership positions within HCA Healthcare. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA), as an Advisory Council Member of The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC), and serves as Region 1 State Delegate of the American Hospital Association’s Regional Policy Board. Within the community, Aimee is a Corporator of the Hockomock Area YMCA, a Corporator of the Bristol County Savings Bank, and a member of the Wheaton College Community Council. Aimee earned a bachelor’s degree with a triple major in biology, chemistry, and sociology of health from Simmons University, and received a master’s degree in public health, with emphasis on policy and management, from the University of New Hampshire.
NATALIE COOK, BBA
Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
About Natalie: Natalie possesses a breadth of experience in human resources in the health care, banking and insurance industries. In her role as Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Sturdy Health, she oversees all functions of human resources systemwide, including talent acquisition, employee relations, benefits, HRIS, payroll services, and volunteer and student services. Natalie holds a bachelor's degree in business administration.
WAYNE C. GIETZ, MA
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
About Wayne: As Executive Vice President and COO, Wayne oversees systemwide inpatient and outpatient operations, including the execution of Sturdy Health’s multi-million-dollar master space plan. He also drives the vision and mission of the Sturdy Health Medical Group and spearheads physician leadership development. During his extensive career as a healthcare executive, he has guided many health system transformations and maintained operational alignment consistent with the mission, vision, values and organizational goals. Wayne holds a Master of Arts degree in organizational leadership.
ROBIN B. MORRIS, MBA, CCE
Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations
About Robin: Robin brings an expanse of experience within healthcare and academia to her role as Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations for Sturdy Memorial Hospital. She oversees case management, laboratory and pathology, imaging, food and nutrition, safety and security, environmental services, and information services. Robin also serves as Corporate Integrity Officer for Sturdy Health, ensuring compliance with patient privacy and safeguards around patients' protected health information (PHI). She serves on the President’s Council of HopeHealth and as a Board Member for Shields Sturdy PET-CT, LLC, and is also an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society, Health Ethics Trust and the Health Care Compliance Association. Robin holds a Master of Business Administration and is a Certified Compliance Executive (CCE) through the Health Ethics Trust.
BRIAN PATEL, MD, FACEP
Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs, Chief Medical and Quality Officer
About Brian: Dr. Patel has proudly served Sturdy Health since 2005. As Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical and Quality Officer, he is responsible for the oversight and operations of Sturdy's quality, risk management, patient safety, licensure and accreditation departments, along with oversight of the Medical Staff. He also oversees the areas of infection control, emergency preparedness, patient experience, and the hospitalist program. Dr. Patel champions health equity education, training, data capture and patient engagement for the Sturdy Health system. Additionally, he is a member of the Community Health System Foundation Board, the Hockomock YMCA Board, and the Clinician Experience Practicing Excellence Editorial Board. He is also an active member of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Patel holds a bachelor’s in cell and developmental biology from Dartmouth College, his medical degree from UMASS - Worcester and completed his residency and Emergency Medicine training at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. He also is a graduate of the Massachusetts Health Leadership College. Dr. Patel is board certified in emergency medicine.
AMY PFEFFER, MBA, MHSA
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
About Amy: With more than 29 years in healthcare finance, Amy serves as Sturdy Health’s Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer with the overarching responsibility for architecting systemwide financial resilience and growth. In this role, she oversees budget and reimbursement, inpatient and ambulatory revenue cycle, accounts payable, supply chain, materials management, health information management, patient accounts and registration, managed care, payer relations, investments, and real estate, including new construction projects. Amy holds master’s degrees in both business administration and health services administration.
COLEEN P. RESNICK, BA
Vice President and Chief Development Officer
About Coleen: Coleen possesses more than 25 years of experience in non-profit fundraising, executive leadership and strategic development. As Vice President and Chief Development Officer for the Sturdy Health Foundation, she is responsible for fundraising efforts, cultivating donor relationships, building a system-wide culture of philanthropy, and implementing development plans. All this is to support Sturdy Health’s mission of providing exceptional healthcare services to the community through philanthropic efforts. Coleen creates and executes initiatives in annual giving and fundraising, enabling the hospital to expand its programs and further enhance patient care. She serves as a Corporator of the Hockomock Area YMCA and is an active member of both the New England Association of Healthcare Philanthropy and the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy. Coleen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree.
LISA SALAMEH, MHA, BSN, RN
Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
About Lisa: Lisa brings her experience as a nursing leader to Sturdy Health as Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. In this role, she leads the inpatient and ambulatory nursing teams, including emergency services, acute care, and medical practice-based nursing teams. Lisa also oversees perioperative and surgical services, pharmacy services, respiratory services, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, endoscopy and clinical education. Since joining Sturdy, she has focused on developing a robust clinical leadership governance structure, patient and staff safety, and recruitment and retention. A reflection of her leadership, Lisa was named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2023 List of Chief Nursing Officers to Know. She is also a member of the Wheaton College Nursing Advisory Board, Bristol Community College Nursing Advisory Board and MHA Maternal Health Advisory Group, and is an active member of the Organization of Nurse Leaders. In addition to a Bachelor of Nursing degree, Lisa holds a master’s degree in healthcare administration.
DENIS TANGUAY, MSHA, CHCIO, CDH-E
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
About Denis: As Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Denis provides information technology expertise to Sturdy Health’s systemwide strategic plan while leading policy formation and implementation planning for systemwide electronic health records, information technology, digital strategy, telecommunications, and client support platforms. He has extensive experience in the ever-evolving healthcare information arena. Denis holds a master's in health administration and is designated as a Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) and a Certified Digital Health Executive (CDH-E) by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).
JUSTINE ZILLIKEN, MBA, MHA, FACHE
Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
About Justine: Justine brings a wealth of experience in healthcare strategy, operations and service line development to her role. In addition to the systemwide strategic planning, communication, implementation and sustainment, she leads brand experience, government relations, media engagement and multi-channel communications, as well as marketing, community benefit and public relations, to create compelling messaging that strengthens Sturdy Health’s brand recognition and reputation. Justine is a member of the Attleboro Norton YMCA Board of Directors and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives Board of Directors, and is also an active member of the Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development. She was also elected to serve as State of Massachusetts Regent for the American College of Healthcare Executives nationally. Justine holds a master’s in both business administration and healthcare administration and is a graduate of the 2022 Massachusetts Health Leadership College. She is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).
