Steven Hanks, MD, President and CEO for St. Joseph’s Health
and St. Peter’s Health Partners, Leads Local Health Care into the Future
Dr. Hanks assumed the role for regional health system January 1
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – (February 7, 2023) With the clock ticking toward midnight on New Year’s Eve, Dr. Steven Hanks was in scrubs, caring for patients and counting down 2022 alongside colleagues in the emergency department of St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany. And as the calendar turned over and transitioned into 2023, St. Joseph’s Health and St. Peter’s Health Partners (SPHP) also transitioned into a new era, with Dr. Hanks officially becoming the newest president and chief executive officer for the regional health care organizations on January 1.
After a year of planning, Dr. Hanks assumed the role following the retirement of James K. Reed, M.D. on December 31, 2022. Dr. Reed served for more than a decade in executive leadership at St. Peter’s.
“The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, but the incredible team of nearly 15,000 colleagues in Albany and Syracuse have been steadfast in their support as we embrace this new era for St. Joseph’s Health and St. Peter’s Health Partners,” Dr. Hanks said. “I am honored to serve as the President and CEO of this comprehensive, regional health system that is so widely known for its high-quality facilities, programs, and services, and for our ability to deliver the compassionate care our communities deserve.”
Previously, Dr. Hanks served as chief operating officer for the regional entity since June 2022. He joined SPHP in 2016 as vice president and chief medical officer, Acute Care Albany, taking on increasingly more demanding leadership roles. He was SPHP’s chief clinical officer beginning in 2018, adding the chief operating officer title for SPHP in October 2021.
In 2022, he served for five months as interim president and CEO while Dr. Reed was on a medical leave of absence and, during that time, was a principal architect of the plan to bring Trinity Health’s ministries in Albany and Syracuse together.
“In Dr. Hanks, St. Joseph’s Health and St. Peter’s Health Partners have a leader who stands strongly committed to a mission of caring, and continually finding ways to better meet the needs of our communities,” said Robert McCormick, chair of the system’s Board of Directors. “He understands the importance of forging new partnerships with public and private payors, physicians and other providers to redesign and reinvent the delivery of health care services to further improve quality and access to state-of-the-art health care for all those who need it.”
“We are in a critical time for health care. We face unprecedented challenges in the accessibility and economics of health care, as well as major issues related to public health, the uninsured, and aging populations,” said Benjamin R. Carter, EVP and Chief Operating Officer of Trinity Health. “Yet, we face this environment with the knowledge that – with a leader like Dr. Steve Hanks at the helm of our regional New York ministry – we are the ones best positioned to effect change and realize our Mission of care.”
During his tenure with SPHP, Dr. Hanks was essential to the development and implementation of the organization’s short-term and long-range goals, objectives, and operational plans, while also maintaining principal responsibility for all clinical services, quality, safety, risk management, physician relations, and clinical informatics.
Leading SPHP’s pandemic response, Dr. Hanks was a trusted resource to both colleagues and the community. In this critical role, he brought together not only SPHP’s colleagues, but also initiated unprecedented coordination among all regional hospitals, earning him an Empire Whole Health Hero award from Empire BlueCross, in partnership with the Albany Business Review.
An experienced physician executive with 30 years of progressive responsibility in a variety of health care organizations, Dr. Hanks was with the Cerner Corporation, a global health care information technology company in Kansas City, Missouri, before coming to SPHP. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade with Hartford HealthCare in Connecticut. During his tenure in Hartford, Dr. Hanks also held the position of Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the University of Connecticut.
Dr. Hanks holds a Bachelor of Science in neurosciences from the University of Rochester, where he also received his medical degree with Distinction in Research. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital.
During his early years in practice, Dr. Hanks earned a certificate in medical management from the American College of Physician Executives before going on to complete his master’s in medical management from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy in Pittsburgh. He is board certified in internal medicine and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards.
Dr. Hanks lives in Latham, NY, with his wife, Lisa. They have four adult children, and one grandchild. He is splitting his time between Albany and Syracuse as the new regional leader of both organizations.
