By Kelsey Durham
The board of directors at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children named a new president last week who will also take over the role as chief executive officer of New York’s largest long-term child health care provider.
Dr. Edwin Simpser was appointed by the board as the facility’s new leader after spending 15 years as chief medical officer, a position to which he was appointed in 1999.
He will take over for Jeffrey Frerichs, the former board of directors chairman who assumed the roles of president and CEO in 2010 following the death of Burton Grebin in 2010.
Simpser is a graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx and he completed residencies in pediatrics at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland.
He is a practicing physician who is avidly involved in multiple medical groups and he previously served as chief of the division of nutrition in the pediatrics department at North Shore University Hospital in New Hyde Park.
During his 15-year tenure at St. Mary’s, Simpser has worked on several projects that have increased the quality of care given to the patients at St. Mary’s. He played a major role in the construction of a new children’s pavilion, according to the hospital, and helped develop several programs for children with special needs.
“Dr. Simpser, a practicing pediatrician and pediatric gastroenterologist, has an expert clinical understanding of the issues our children face every day,” said St. Mary’s Chairman Stephen Brent Wells. “The board is confident that with the appointment of Dr. Simpser as president and CEO, St. Mary’s is poised to continue its leadership role in advancing bold initiatives as an innovator and thought leader in pediatric health care.”
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
