Ascension leader Neeysa Biddle announces retirement from St. Vincent’s Health System; Jason Alexander named new market leader 

Special to The Tribune

BIRMINGHAM – Longtime healthcare executive Neeysa Biddle has announced her retirement as Senior Vice President, Ascension Healthcare, and Birmingham Ministry Market Executive, serving as President and CEO of St. Vincent’s Health System (STVHS), effective June 30. She plans to continue working with Ascension’s newly created Consulting Network, LLC, through which she will continue to share her experience and insights in support of Catholic healthcare. Jason Alexander, formerly with Ascension’s Providence Health System in Mobile, Alabama, and most recently with Tenet Healthcare Corp., will be rejoining Ascension to serve as Birmingham Ministry Market Executive and President and CEO of STVHS.

Biddle began leading STVHS on an interim basis in September 2014, then assumed the role fully in February 2015. She already was intimately familiar with St. Vincent’s, having served there as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from 2005-2011. When she retired from that position, she agreed to continue to serve Ascension as national Director of the Ascension Leadership Academy.

“Leaders and associates across Ascension have been blessed by their relationship with Neeysa, and we are grateful to her for sharing her gifts and talents with our national health ministry,” said Patricia Maryland, Dr.PH, President, Healthcare Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Ascension Healthcare, a division of Ascension.

Biddle’s commitment, dedication and vision have benefited STVHS, its associates, physicians, and volunteers, and the individuals and communities they work together to serve, Dr. Maryland said. She was named one of the Birmingham Business Journal’s Most Influential Executives in 2015 and 2016. Among her numerous community and professional leadership roles and recognitions, she has served on the Alabama Hospital Association’s Board of Directors and as an adjunct faculty member at UAB’s School of Health Professions, where she was selected as the 2001 Alumnus of the Year. She has been named one of the Top 40 Graduates of the UAB Health Administration program and North Alabama Girl Scouts’ 2012 Woman of the Year.

Jason Alexander Returns to Ascension

Jason Alexander, FACHE, the incoming Senior Vice President, Ascension Healthcare, and Birmingham Ministry Market Executive, has served as CEO of East Cooper Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, part of Tenet Healthcare Corp., since 2011. While at East Cooper the hospital received Tenet’s Circle of Excellence recognition, awarded to Tenet’s highest-performing hospitals, in 2013, 2014 and 2016. The hospital more than doubled its operating performance and improved two letter grades in its Leapfrog Safety Score, while improving associate engagement and physician net promoter scores.

“The selection of Jason to lead our ministry reflects the commitment of Ascension and the physicians and community leaders on our board to appointing a leader with a strong track record of accomplishments and a passion for our Mission,” Biddle said. “He has never failed to impress me with his desire to make a difference, his leadership and achievements.”

“I am excited to have the opportunity to return to Ascension and look forward to joining the St. Vincent’s team,” Alexander said. “Ascension’s culture of servant leadership and Mission of improving health by providing spiritually centered, holistic care is what originally attracted me and ultimately led me to St. Vincent’s. It is truly an honor to follow in the footsteps of Neeysa Biddle, who I have known for over 20 years and have had the privilege of working for.”

Alexander has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare and an extensive background in operations and development. He previously served for five years as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Providence Health System in Mobile, Alabama, part of the Ascension Gulf Coast Ministry Market, and earlier as Vice President at Singing River Health System on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His healthcare career began at Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham, where he served as Director of Business Development and Director of Physician Practice Operations.

Alexander earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of South Alabama in Mobile and master’s degrees in Health Administration and Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In addition, last year he completed a post-graduate program on Strategy for Healthcare Delivery through the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, and in 2009 earned a graduate certificate in Catholic Healthcare Ministry Leadership from Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has served on several boards including the local chapter of the American Heart Association and the Graduate Programs in Health Administration at both the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Medical University of South Carolina.