Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Board of Directors announced June 5 that incoming CEO David Cheney advanced his start date and will begin as CEO Monday, June 12.
Cheney was scheduled to begin on Monday, July 10. Chief Operating Officer Josh Tinkle has served as an interim CEO since Aug. 12, when the board announced Florence “Flo” Spyrow had “stepped down as the system president and chief executive officer.”
“Dave’s accelerated start date follows the Board’s decision to place Acting CEO Josh Tinkle on administrative leave during a personnel investigation,” NAH stated in an email.
“NAH’s Board of Directors understands this information is likely to prompt many questions, but it is not appropriate to further comment on personnel actions,” NAH stated.
Cheney reportedly brings a track record of inspiring strong organizational culture and community connections while maintaining high-quality care at his previous health systems, according to a press releases from NAH. Cheney has extensive executive experience in health care, most recently as CEO of Sutter Health Hospitals in California, where he led a 24-hospital network in six markets.
Cheney earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and his Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University. Cheney is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
“Cheney’s decades of health care executive leadership will position him to lead NAH in the next phase of our mission to improve health and heal people in the communities we serve,” William Riley, Ph.D., chairman of the NAH Board of Directors, stated on April 26. “His prior experience at health care systems in Arizona shows he understands the complexity of health care needs and delivery in our unique state.”
Cheney describes himself as a servant leader with experience guiding and motivating teams toward continuous improvement in quality, safety, and the health of the community. His strengths include developing community relationships, inspiring strong team leadership and organizational culture, and enhancing the quality of care. He also has led teams through some of the challenges northern Arizona communities and NAH face together, including forest fires and flooding.
“NAH is doing wonderful work and we have the chance to build on those successes together,” Cheney said.
