VHHA Elects 2025-2026 Officers for Board of Directors

April 17, 2025

The New Slate of Officers Includes Valley Health System President and CEO Mark Nantz as Board Chair, HCA Healthcare Capital Division President Dr. William Lunn as Board Vice Chair, and Riverside Health President and CEO Dr. Mike Dacey as Board Secretary-Treasurer

RICHMOND, VA – During its annual Spring Meeting, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association’s (VHHA) Board of Directors selected three experienced hospital leaders from around the Commonwealth to serve as Board officers for the 2025-2026 term. The Board unanimously elected Valley Health System President and CEO Mark Nantz as Chair, HCA Healthcare Capital Division President Dr. William Lunn as Vice Chair, and Riverside Health President and CEO Dr. Michael J. “Mike” Dacey as Secretary-Treasurer.

Other Board of Directors officers include VCU Health Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Elliott, who is the Immediate Past Board Chair, and VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. VHHA Board officers are elected to 12-month terms. In addition to the Board officers, VHHA’s Executive Committee also includes Bon Secours Richmond Market President Mike Lutes, Augusta Health President and CEO Mary N. Mannix, and Dr. Steve Narang, President of Inova Fairfax Medical Campus and the Inova Pediatric Service Line.

“Health care is changing fast – new policies, an aging community, and technologies like AI are reshaping how we deliver care,” said Mark Nantz, Valley Health President and CEO and newly elected Chair of the VHHA Board of Directors. “We’re meeting these challenges head-on by innovating and working together to ensure every patient has access to the highest-quality care, right here in Virginia. I’m proud to lead alongside such dedicated hospital leaders as we shape a healthier future for our communities.”

Added VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton: “From Winchester to Richmond, Norfolk to Fairfax, Roanoke to Bristol, and places in between, Virginia is home to talented health care leaders in hospitals across the Commonwealth. That includes Mark Nantz, who brings a fresh perspective to the role of Board Chair as the leader of a multi-state health system serving both rural and urban communities, and to the pursuit of our shared mission to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation.”

VHHA Board Officers for the 2025-2026 term are:

• Board Chair Mark Nantz, MHA, FACHE, is President and CEO for Valley Health System. Prior to joining the Winchester, Virginia-based health system, Nantz served in executive roles with Bon Secours Mercy Health, including chief administrative officer and Atlantic Group President. Prior to that, he was executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Bon Secours. Nantz has also held executive positions at Carolinas Healthcare System (now Atrium Health), Carolinas Medical Center ‐ NorthEast, and leadership roles in the audit practice of a Big 5 accounting firm.

• Board Vice Chair Dr. William Lunn is the President of HCA Healthcare Capital Division. Dr. Lunn is a pulmonologist and physician leader who previously served as CEO of Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals, President and CEO of Tulane Health System, Chief Operating Officer of Christus Health Northern Louisiana, and Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs and Vice President of Medical Affairs at the Baylor College of Medicine.

• Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Michael J. “Mike” Dacey is the President and CEO of Riverside Health. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Riverside, and held leadership roles at Kent Hospital in Warwick, RI and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, a Brown University School of Medicine teaching hospital. In an earlier role, Dr. Dacey served as chief clinical integration officer for Care New England and oversaw the Care New England Physician Organization.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 111 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Its vision is through collaboration with members and stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of Virginia health care system, transform the delivery of care to promote lower costs and high value across the continuum of care, and to improve health for all Virginians. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Julian Walker
Vice President of Communications
(804) 297-3193 office
(804) 304-7402 mobile
jtwalker@vhha.com