Literature Review

Choices Healthcare names new president and CEO, Michael Link TownLively.com, Lancaster, PA; Press Release; 9/9/25 Choices Healthcare has announced the appointment of Michael Link as its next president and chief executive officer, effective Wednesday, Oct. 1. The decision follows a national search and reflects unanimous support from the board of directors. Choices Healthcare is the parent organization of Hospice & Community Care and Hospice of Central PA. Link has been with the organization for more than two decades. He joined Choices Healthcare, then known as Hospice of Lancaster County, in 2001 as an information systems trainer. Over the years, he advanced through roles including director of information technology, vice president and chief information officer, chief administrative officer and, most recently, chief operating officer. ... Steve Knaub, the current Choices Healthcare president and CEO, will serve as special adviser to the board through his retirement on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

68 hospitals, health systems cutting jobs Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch and Kristin Kuchno; 8/29/25 A number of hospitals and health systems are reducing their workforces or jobs amid financial and operational challenges. [Listed] are workforce reduction efforts or job eliminations announced in 2025.

BAYADA Home Health Care announces CEO succession plan: Board Succession Committee launches a thorough CEO search BAYADA Home Health Care, Moorestown, NJ; Press Release; 8/19/25 BAYADA Home Health Care (“BAYADA”), a nonprofit organization and one of the nation's largest providers of home health, personal home care, private duty nursing, and hospice services, today announced the start of a leadership transition that will conclude with current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Baiada moving into a new role on the BAYADA Board of Directors (“Board”) upon the appointment of the company’s next CEO. The Board’s Succession Committee has initiated a comprehensive search for BAYADA’s next CEO—the first non-family member to lead the organization. As the search progresses, David will continue in his role as CEO and will serve as an advisor during the transition. 

Enhabit CEO Barb Jacobsmeyer announces departure Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 8/7/25 Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) President and CEO Barb Jacobsmeyer is stepping down after four years at the company’s helm. Jacobsmeyer will continue to serve in her current role and as a board member until July 2026, or upon the appointment of her successor. She previously served as president of inpatient hospitals at Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC). Jacobsmeyer transitioned to CEO of home health and hospice in 2021, shortly before Encompass spun off those business lines in 2022 to form Enhabit.

Enhabit Home Health & Hospice announces CEO transition plan Business Wire, Dallas, TX; 8/6/25 Enhabit, Inc. (NYSE: EHAB), a leading home health and hospice provider, today announced that Barb Jacobsmeyer, president and CEO, and a member of the board of directors, intends to step down from these roles in July 2026, or upon the appointment of a successor. The company has initiated a leadership succession plan with Jacobsmeyer’s full support to ensure a smooth transition. The board has retained Russell Reynolds Associates, a leading executive search firm, to assist in a comprehensive search process to identify the company’s next CEO.

VITAS® Healthcare announces CEO transition and appointment of new Chief Executive OfficerGlobeNewswire, Miramar, FL; Press Release; 7/30/25VITAS Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading providers of hospice and palliative care, and a subsidiary of Chemed Corporation (NYSE: CHE), today announced that Nicholas M. Westfall will step down as chairman and chief executive officer to pursue other personal and professional opportunities. Joel L. Wherley, president and chief operating officer, was appointed by the Board to succeed Westfall as chief executive officer of VITAS Healthcare. Westfall has served as CEO since 2016, leading VITAS through a period of meaningful growth, operational transformation and reinvestment in its people. “It has been an honor to lead VITAS Healthcare and work alongside such a talented team,” said Westfall. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together and confident that Joel is the right leader to take the company forward.”

Executive Personnel Changes - 7/16/25 

Visiting nurse organization makes interim leader permanent Valley News, White River Junction, VT; by Lukas Dunford; 7/3/25 The board of Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire has appointed a new chief executive officer. Tammy L. Tarsa, who has served as interim CEO and president of VNH since March, will replace Johanna Beliveau, who served as CEO from 2018 to 2025. Tarsa began at VNH as chief clinical officer in 2022. Since then, she led a financial sustainability plan and improved VNH’s hospice rating to four stars. The rating is based on a family caregiver experience survey, which the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, uses to assess the experiences of patients and their informal primary caregivers. Tarsa also increased payouts by 310% from the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model, a program designed by the CMS to reward quality and efficiency in home health care. 

Choices Healthcare President and CEO to retire Central Penn Business Journal; by Rochelle Shenk; 6/12/25 Steve Knaub, president and CEO of Choices Healthcare, will retire December 31, according to a media release. Choices Healthcare is the parent organization of Hospice & Community Care and Hospice of Central PA. The media release said Knaub has been a “driving force behind the organization’s growth, steering it through significant achievements and fostering strong relationships with healthcare partners and the community”. “Serving this organization and our community has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Knaub said in the release, “When I first joined—then Hospice of Lancaster County (in 1998)– we were caring for 140 patients a day. Today, we serve more than 1,000. That growth reflects not only the increasing need for compassionate end-of-life care, but also our unwavering commitment to meeting people where they are, with the support they deserve.”

Executive Personnel Changes - 6/6/25

UnitedHealth urges shareholders to back CEO’s $60M pay package Becker's Payer Issues; by Rylee Wilson; 5/20/25 UnitedHealth Group is asking shareholders to support a $60 million stock option award for its new CEO. In a May 20 letter to shareholders, Christopher Zaetta, UnitedHealth’s chief legal officer, urged shareholders to approve the company’s executive compensation. Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory firm, has advised shareholders to vote no on UnitedHealth’s “say-on-pay” proposal. The company appointed Stephen Hemsley, who led the company from 2006 to 2017, as CEO in May. Mr. Hemsley will receive a $1 million annual salary, but will not receive any annual cash incentives. Instead, he will receive a $60 million stock option after three years as CEO. ISS recommended shareholders vote no because nearly all of Mr. Hemsley’s compensation will be in stock option awards, and fluctuations in stock price could lead to a “windfall” for the CEO. 

'Legendary' Hemsley takes over at UnitedHealth amid rough seas Modern Healthcare; by Nona Tepper; 5/14/25 Stephen Hemsley returns to the top spot at a UnitedHealth Group that looks very different from the one he helmed almost a decade ago and faces trouble bubbling up in its Optum healthcare services subsidiary. Over the past three years, the company has reported rising Medicare Advantage costs in its UnitedHealthcare insurance subsidiary. But some see Optum as more concerning. With Andrew Witty resigning as CEO on Tuesday [5/13], it falls to Hemsley to right the ship.