HASC is pleased to congratulate three chief executives on their new leadership roles within the Dignity Health system.
Jill Welton, MSN, RN, was promoted to market president of Dignity Health Southern California in April. She previously had served as president and CEO of Dignity Health – Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center since 2018.
At Glendale Memorial, Welton headed a leadership team that improved the hospital’s quality outcomes and patient experience scores. These achievements earned the hospital its first-ever CMS Five-Star Quality Rating and a Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade A. Earlier, she was vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer at Dignity Health Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco.
An advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion, Welton has a strong passion for leading change in health care through racial justice, women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights. She served as an emergency room nurse before focusing on administrative leadership roles.
Welton earned her MS in nursing from Holy Names University in Oakland, California, and her BS in nursing from California State University, Hayward.
Filling Welton’s former role, Betsy Hart became president and CEO of Dignity Health – Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center in August. She brings more than 15 years of senior leadership experience in health care, with an extensive background in financial management, strategic planning and quality outcomes.
Most recently, as chief operating officer of Northridge Hospital Medical Center, she played a key role in enhancing service line optimization and building physician partnerships. She oversaw strategic planning and decision-making across service lines, focusing on ambulatory growth to address community needs and maintain financial stability.
Hart also led the hospital’s operational response during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also directed projects, including an emergency department expansion and the creation of a new urgent care center. Earlier, she served as chief nursing officer at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank.
Hart holds an MBA and an MS in nursing from Walden University and an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University. An active member of HASC and the American College of Healthcare Executives, she also serves on the American Heart Association board.
Jeremy Zoch, PhD, MHA, FACHE, began a new role as hospital president and CEO for Northridge Hospital Medical Center in August. He most recently served as chief executive officer with Providence St. Joseph Hospital, Orange County.
At Providence, Zoch oversaw an integrated delivery network, including St. Joseph Hospital (463 beds), 3,000 caregivers and 1,300 medical staff members, a value-based care model, a multispecialty medical group and an affiliate physician structure. He also helped raise more than $140 million to improve access, programs and services for the hospital.
Zoch is returning to Dignity Health after previously serving as chief operating officer for Mercy Hospital Bakersfield and Mercy Southwest Hospitals from 2007 to 2012. Prior to moving to California, he worked for the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore and the Johns Hopkins Health System.
Zoch received his PhD from the Virginia Commonwealth University and his MHA from Washington University School of Medicine. He served on the HASC board of directors through 2023 and has been a member of the American College of HealthCare Executives since 1998.