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Leadership
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Don McKenna
President, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical CenterAs president of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, McKenna focuses on operational and financial management; building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders; optimizing patient experience; promoting a culture of safety; and working with teams to navigate the evolving health care environment. He also works closely with Penn State College of Medicine leadership to support opportunities for expansion of the college’s educational and research initiatives across Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the broader Penn State Health system.
McKenna joined Penn State Health in 2020 when he became president of the then-under-construction Hampden Medical Center, a 300,000-square-foot, acute care hospital in Cumberland County. He oversaw the opening of the hospital in October 2021, and it grew steadily under his leadership.
He also presided over the integration of Holy Spirit Medical Center into Penn State Health following its acquisition from Geisinger in 2020 and served as president of both facilities. He created a regional leadership strategy to jointly guide operations of Hampden and Holy Spirit medical centers.
Prior to joining Penn State Health, McKenna was the president and chief executive officer of Jupiter Health in Florida, where he created a comprehensive stroke center with neurosurgical and interventional services and developed an open-heart surgery program that included dedicated operative suites.
Before leading Jupiter Health, McKenna served for 10 years as the president and chief executive officer of St. Mary’s Health Care System in Athens, Georgia, where he acquired two additional hospitals to expand the health system’s presence throughout northeast Georgia. McKenna received his master’s in public administration and a bachelor of science in business administration and marketing from Long Island University in Brookville, New York.
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Robert E. Harbaugh, MD, FAANS, FACS, FAHA
Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Outpatient PracticesDr. Robert Harbaugh is Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s chief medical officer and senior vice president of its affiliated outpatient practice sites.
In 2003, he became the first Penn State College of Medicine graduate to return as a department chair when he was appointed professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. Harbaugh also served as director of the Penn State Institute of the Neurosciences and is a professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State.
Before joining the Department of Neurosurgery at the College of Medicine, he served as director of Dartmouth’s Cerebrovascular Disease Center, Neurosurgical Laboratory and neurosurgery residency program.
A past president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Harbaugh has also served as director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery and vice president of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience and chairs the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education residency review committee for neurosurgery. Dr. Harbaugh has also served on the National Football League's Head, Neck and Spine Committee and as a consultant to the NIH, FDA and AHRQ.
His awards and achievements include being named a University Distinguished Professor of the College of Medicine; a Penn State Alumni Fellow; a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the American Stroke Association; and received the Cushing Medal for his contributions to neurosurgery. Harbaugh has also served on the board of directors of Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, as well as the Lebanon Valley College and St. Joan of Arc School boards.
After earning his medical degree from Penn State College of Medicine, he completed his general surgery internship and neurological surgery residency at Dartmouth-affiliated hospitals.
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Michele Szkolnicki, MEd
Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical CenterAs senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Michele Szkolnicki provides leadership on key nursing initiatives, aligns nursing strategy to support hospital goals and is responsible for overall patient care.
Szkolnicki has more than 25 years of executive experience in a variety of adult and pediatric medical practice environments. Most recently, she served as the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s vice president of nursing, acute and ambulatory care. While in that role, she implemented a care continuity plan to manage patient transitions between the hospital and clinics and helped plan the implementation of mobile teleobservation units throughout the medical center and health system.
Prior to joining Hershey Medical Center, Szkolnicki was the chief operating officer of Crozer Keystone Health Access Network, Springfield, Pa. She also held numerous health care and nursing leadership roles in the Philadelphia region, including chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Patient Care Services for Cancer Treatment Centers of America, chief operating officer for Drexel University Physicians and several management and nursing leadership roles with the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the 2017 Neumann University Nursing and Health Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award and the Nurse Administrator of the Year Award, presented by the Philadelphia Business Journal during its 2011 inaugural Healthcare Innovation Awards.
Szkolnicki holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Neumann University, Aston, Pa., and a master’s degree in education from St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia. She is board-certified as a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a Certified Medical Practice Executive through the Medical Group Management Association.
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Lilian Barker, DNP, CPHQ, CJCP
Vice President and Chief Quality Officer, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical CenterLillian Marie Barker is vice president and chief quality officer at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. In this role, she oversees the academic medical center’s efforts to ensure the quality and safety of care. She prioritizes attaining unsurpassed clinical and patient-reported outcomes and building hospital-wide participation in quality and safety through transparency, collaboration and mutual learning.
Barker brings 10 years of experience in health care quality management and leadership, with a proven track record of enhancing efficiencies and improving performance and outcomes across diverse operational areas.
Most recently, she served as the corporate director of quality improvement – public reporting and pay for performance at Community Health Systems, a 76-hospital health care company in Franklin, Tennessee. She was responsible for strategic leadership, public reporting and performance improvement and regulatory compliance and project management.
Barker, a registered nurse, holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice – Organizational Leadership from Eastern Kentucky University, a Master of Science in Nursing from Xavier University College of Nursing and a Master of Business Administration from Central Philippine University.
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Maher Hanna, MBA
Vice President of Operations, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical CenterAs vice president of operations for Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Maher Hanna is responsible for the operations of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute, the Clinical Simulation Center and the Department of Pathology. In addition to serving as administrative and business officer to a core group of clinical departments, he strategically partners with nursing leadership and other stakeholders to enhance and support existing clinical programming.
Prior to joining the health system, Hanna served as regional vice president of professional services at the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, Plattsburgh, N.Y., and the Alice Hyde Medical Center, Malone, N.Y. In this role, he provided leadership for the cardiovascular and oncology service lines, diagnostic imaging services, vascular interventional radiology services, wound management and hyperbaric oxygen services, pharmacy services, clinical and anatomic pathology laboratories and the Adirondack Regional Blood Center.
Earlier in his career, Hanna held multiple leadership positions with Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Spartanburg Medical Center, Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Hanna earned an MBA from Clemson University, Clemson, S.C., a bachelor’s degree in cytotechnology from the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C., and a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine from Bob Jones University, Greenville, S.C.
Hanna is a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives.
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Mona Miliner, MHA
Vice President of Hospital Operations, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical CenterMona Miliner has served as vice president of hospital operations at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center since early 2020. In this role, she provides strategic leadership for Penn State Cancer Institute, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Radiation Oncology, Hematology and Oncology, Radiology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health and Patient Experience.
Miliner had more than 25 years of industry experience prior to joining Penn State Health. Most recently, she was chief of operations and finance at University of Cincinnati Physicians Company and executive director of business and administration at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience. She also served as business director for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and development manager for Dayton Children’s Hospital.
A graduate of Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, Miliner holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in health care administration and management. She is a fellow of the American College of Health Care Administrators, Healthcare Financial Management Association, American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE) and American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).
Miliner serves on the board of directors for the ACHE of Central PA and on the national ACMPE Certification Commission. In 2020, Ohio University presented her with its Medal of Merit for achieving distinction in her chosen field.
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Peter C. Ostasewski, MBA
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center; Chief Financial Officer, Penn State Health Medical GroupPeter Ostasewski serves as vice president and chief financial officer for Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and its affiliated outpatient practices, as well as chief financial officer for Penn State Health Medical Group. He is responsible for business planning and execution, financial reporting and analysis, operating and capital budgeting, benchmarking, and performance optimization. He is also involved in accounting, business intelligence, decision support, revenue management, provider compensation plans, system service line leadership, mergers, acquisitions, and Penn State Health strategy.
Ostasewski has more than 30 years of experience in health care finance leadership. Prior to joining Penn State Health, he was the chief financial officer for the MedStar Medical Group, the provider organization for MedStar Health, in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region. He oversaw all aspects of financial performance, accounting and reporting, practice management economics, operating and capital budgeting, long-range financial forecasting, performance benchmarking, physician compensation model design and management, and pro forma development for practice acquisitions and strategic initiatives.
He also has held regional, health system and entity level chief financial officer and executive finance roles at UPMC Central PA Region (Formerly Pinnacle Health System), Tenet Healthcare Corporation, the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and Nemours duPont Pediatrics.
Ostasewski served in U.S. Army Special Operations Medicine with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He is an active member in the 75th Ranger Regiment Association and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is also a member of the Healthcare Financial Management and Medical Group Management associations. After earning his bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Maryland, he obtained a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and Management.
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Stephen Speece
Vice President, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, OutpatientAs vice president of Penn State Health Medical Group’s Academic Practice Division, Stephen Speece oversees administrative and practice operations, coordination and communication with Hershey Medical Center leadership and academic providers and the enhancement of the patient and family experience.
Speece has more than 25 years of health care leadership experience in hospital and physician practice environments, most recently as senior director of Ambulatory Operations and Performance for Penn State Health Medical Group, Community Practice Division. In this role, he created and organized the division’s Operations and Safety Committee, built the infrastructure to onboard physicians and staff, and created an evaluation and reporting structure to support standard quality reporting and performance across three geographical regions.
Speece, who joined the health system in 2006, also served as administrative director of the Centre County Region for Penn State Health Medical Group, Academic Practice Division, and outpatient director for Penn State Health Medical Group.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Speece’s early career included serving as deputy chief of the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Medical Financial Programming Division, and chief financial officer for Tyndall Air Force Base Hospital in Florida.
A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va., Speece earned a master’s degree in health administration. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Wilmington University, New Castle, Del., and an associate degree in administrative management from the Community College of the Air Force, Montgomery, Ala.
He is an active member of the Medical Group Management Association, the American College of Healthcare Executives, Retired Military Officers Association and the American Society of Military Comptrollers.
Biography -
Umar Farooq, MD
Associate Chief Medical Officer, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Outpatient -
Mark Iantosca, MD
Associate Chief Medical Officer, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Outpatient -
Shawn Phillips, MD
Associate Chief Medical Officer, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Outpatient -
Wayne Sebastianelli, MD
Associate Chief Medical Officer, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Outpatient
Department Chairs
Institute Directors
