James W. Connolly
President, Chief Executive Officer

James W. Connolly is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ellis Medicine in Schenectady, NY, a hospital nationally recognized for quality of care. With more than 35 years of experience in the health care industry, Mr. Connolly is strongly credentialed with a proven track record of accomplishment in the areas of hospital unification, operations, physician relations, program development and information technology, among others.

Mr. Connolly assumed the top post at Ellis at a critical time -- when Schenectady's hospital system was undergoing state-mandated reform that required the closure of Bellevue Woman's Hospital and the downsizing and unification of Ellis and St. Clare's hospitals. In his leadership role, Mr. Connolly oversaw the successful joining of all three hospitals as Ellis assumed responsibility for the services of both Bellevue and St. Clare's within a remarkably short nine-month period in 2007 and 2008. During this time of great change and challenges, Ellis retained and kept in Schenectady more than 1, 110 skilled health care jobs from the other two hospitals, while preserving Schenectady's specialized women's health center and our community's safety net and maintaining a full range of quality health care services. The scope and rapid pace of this unification and restructuring of services is likely to be unprecedented in the hospital industry.

Mr. Connolly is a graduate of Hamilton College. He holds a master's degree in business administration from the Columbia University School of Business and a master's in public health from Columbia's School of Public Health, both located in New York, NY. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, is the ACHE Regent for the Capital/Hudson Valley region and serves on ACHE's national Board of Regents.

Under Mr. Connolly's leadership, Ellis Medicine has entered a new phase in its evolution as Schenectady's health care system. In collaboration with its community partners, Ellis has developed the "Medical Home" at the Ellis Health Center which has been called a model of primary care by the state Health Commissioner. In addition, Ellis' nursing home has relocated to an enhanced space at that campus. And, Ellis has received approval for three future projects to enhance services and further strengthen health care in our community: renovate and modernize Bellevue; expand and modernize the Emergency Department at Ellis Hospital; and build an Enhanced Urgent Care facility in Southern Saratoga County.

Mr. Connolly is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Visiting Nurses Association of Schenectady and Saratoga Counties. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Schenectady County Chamber of Commerce and on the Advisory Committee of Union Graduate College. The Chamber of Schenectady County presented its 2009 "Executive of the Year Award" to Mr. Connolly for his leadership in a new era of health care.

Ellis Medicine is a 455-bed community and teaching facility, which employs more than 3,300 staff across its three campuses and at six additional locations, with an affiliated physician community of more than 600.

Management Team

James W. Connolly President, Chief Executive Officer James W. Connolly is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ell...[more]	Paul A. Milton Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer Mr. Milton has more than 20 years of experience as a senior healt...[more]
Joseph Giansante Vice President, Human Resources Joseph Giansante has more than 30 years of experience in human re...[more]	Patti Hammond Vice President, Physician Services Patti Hammond has over 20 years of senior health care management ...[more]
Anoush Koroghlian Scott Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel Anoush Koroghlian Scott brings two decades of experience in the l...[more]	David M. Liebers, M.D. Chief Medical Officer, Vice President, Quality Services/Medical Affairs David M. Liebers joined Ellis Medicine as an infectious disease s...[more]
Cece Lynch, RN, MS Vice President of Nursing, Chief Nursing Officer Cecelia (Cece) Lynch is responsible for overseeing nursing care a...[more]	Donald McLaughlin, Jr. Vice President, Facility and Support Services Donald J. McLaughlin, Jr. has over 30 years of leadership experie...[more]
Daniel Rinaldi Vice President Finance, Chief Financial Officer Mr. Rinaldi joins Ellis with more than 35 years of experience as ...[more]	Wendy Rosher Vice President, Clinical Services Wendy Rosher has more than 20 years of leadership experience, inc...[more]
David H. Snyder Vice President, Information Services, Chief Information Officer Mr. Snyder has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare inf...[more]	Kellie Valenti Vice President, Strategic Planning and Program Development Ms. Valenti has risen steadily up the hospital's leadership ranks...[more]