Sentara welcomes new president of acute and post-acute care

Eric Conley went to Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania to play baseball. He was taking classes in the Allied Health Professions, not sure what career path he would choose, but acting on his desire to do something with his life that helps people. A chance meeting with a retired professor set him on a course to a career in hospital administration. That retired professor connected Conley with professor of sociology, who was involved in a chain of federally supported health centers, which offer primary care to underserved communities, both urban and rural.

“I worked in a clinic for a summer during college and I witnessed the effect they can have on the well-being of a community,” Conley said. His path was becoming clearer.

After school, Conley got a job as a unit secretary at the Ohio State University Hospital. He was a floater who worked in virtually every department and saw first hand how each one’s work affected patients and families and the unique administrative intricacies of each one. He took on progressively more challenging responsibilities at a series of hospitals and health systems across the country, including Memorial Sloan Kettering, Duke University, MedStar in Washington D.C., Northwestern in Chicago and a small, struggling community hospital.

Those diverse experiences have led Conley to Sentara Health as executive vice president of the company and president of acute care and post-acute services. Sentara is in the midst of a deliberate process of integrating its acute, ambulatory and health plan services into a unique concept called One Sentara. Conley said the strategic integration of a health plan with a care delivery system drew him to Sentara.

“This model is a way to help improve the health of a community, Conley said, “when the health plan and the providers work together, when preventive services are covered, and post-acute services are integrated into the continuum of care.”

Conley is a strong advocate for community-based violence intervention programs, such as the Foresight program at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, and for addressing the social determinants of health.

“When you improve people’s lives, you improve health,” he said. Conley believes the leadership team at Sentara is committed to the Sentara mission to improve health every day.

“As advertised,” he said of the senior colleagues he has met so far. “They’re strong, collaborative leaders, they’re committed to the Sentara brand and mission, and I think there’s a strong desire to do what’s right for the right reasons, which is exciting.”

Conley and his wife have three grown daughters. Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Erie, he’s a die-hard Steelers fan. He looks forward to settling into Hampton Roads for the long haul. Asked about his nomadic career until now, Conley is philosophical. “I never say never,” he said.