James W. Connolly - President, Chief Executive Officer

James W. Connolly is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ellis Medicine in Schenectady, NY, a hospital nationally recognized for clinical excellence and patient safety. With more than 30 years of senior executive experience in the health care industry, Mr. Connolly is strongly credentialed with a proven track record of accomplishment in the areas of hospital unification, operations, physician relations, program development and information technology, among others. He was honored as the 2009 Executive of the Year by the Schenectady County Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Connolly assumed the top post at Ellis at a critical time -- when Schenectady's hospital system was undergoing state-mandated reform that required the closure of Bellevue Woman's Hospital and the downsizing and unification of Ellis and St. Clare's Hospitals. In his leadership role, Mr. Connolly oversaw the successful coming together of all three hospitals as Ellis assumed responsibility for the services of both Bellevue and St. Clare's within a remarkably short nine-month period in 2007 and 2008. During this time of great change and challenges, Ellis retained and kept in Schenectady more than 1, 110 skilled health care jobs from the other two hospitals, while preserving Schenectady's specialized women's health center and our community's safety net and maintaining a full range of quality health care services. The scope and rapid pace of this unification and restructuring of services is likely to be unprecedented in the hospital industry.

Mr. Connolly holds a masters degree in business administration from the Columbia University School of Business and a masters in public health from Columbia's School of Public Health, both located in New York, NY. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the Regents Advisory Committee.

Mr. Connolly is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Visiting Nurses Association of Schenectady and Saratoga Counties. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Schenectady County Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Executive Circle of the Southern Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Mr. Connolly is a member of the Schenectady Rotary.

Ellis Hospital is a 455-bed community and teaching hospital, which employs more than 3,400 staff across its three campuses and at six additional locations, with an affiliated physician community of more than 600.