SSM Health leader in Wisconsin leaving for job in Illinois

Mar. 18—Damond Boatwright, regional president for SSM Health, which includes St. Mary's Hospital and Dean Medical Group in Madison, is leaving to become president and CEO of Hospital Sisters Health System, based in Springfield, Illinois.

He will lead the system's nearly 2,300 physician partners and more than 13,000 associate staff in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Boatwright's last day with St. Louis-based SSM Health will be May 15. He will begin his new role in June, succeeding the current president and CEO of HSHS, Mary Starmann-Harrison, who is retiring in July. Starmann-Harrison also previously oversaw SSM Health in Wisconsin.

"While I am excited about this new chapter, this decision was not easy," Boatwright said in a statement. "Wisconsin has become my home and SSM Health has become my family. I am incredibly proud of the work the organization has done."

Boatwright has been at SSM Health Wisconsin since 2014. SSM Health Wisconsin includes seven hospitals and four affiliates, more than 85 physician clinics, a pharmacy benefit company, 10 nursing homes and an insurance company, Dean Health Plan.

Under Damond's leadership, SSM Health integrated with the Sisters of St. Agnes, which added health care services from Agnesian HealthCare and Monroe Clinic. He supported Dean Medical Group's South Madison Campus project and a new, standalone clinic in Beaver Dam.

Prior to SSM Health Wisconsin, Boatwright worked at Hospital Corporation of America hospitals in Virginia, Florida, Missouri and Kansas.

Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Boatwright is married to Dr. Makeba Williams, who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology at UW Health.

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