Cynthia Kreutz, president and chief executive officer of HCA/HealthONE Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital in Aurora, Colo., is the 2008 chair of the American Hospital Association's (AHA) Section for Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation.

As chair, Kreutz will lead the section's governing council which advises the AHA on member service strategies and public policy issues concerning general hospitals and freestanding special hospitals that provide rehabilitation, long-term acute, sub-acute, skilled or home health services.

Spalding is part of HCA/HealthONE, the largest healthcare system in metro Denver, and provides specialized rehabilitative care delivered by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians to the patients it serves. In her position, Kreutz has executive responsibilities for a $30 million budget, 300 employees, a 400-member medical staff and a 100-bed hospital including a satellite unit also in Denver, Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center.

She began her career as an occupational therapist and has over 25 years of experience in the rehabilitation field. She has a master's degree in Health Services Administration and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Mary Beth Walsh, M.D., president, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, White Plains, N.Y., was named as the chair-elect of the section and will assume the role of chair in 2009. Mary Blunt, vice president and administrator, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk, Va. and 2007 section chair was recently named to the AHA Board of Trustees and will serve as the board liaison to the section in 2008.

Also elected to the governing council were, Peter B. Flemister, M.D., director of PM&R, Harlem Hospital Center, New York, N.Y.; Karen Bankston, Ph.D., senior vice president, Drake Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Linda R. Stones, R.N. , vice president and chief nursing officer, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Lincoln, Neb.; Lisa Pascual, M.D., chief of rehabilitation services, Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center and San Francisco General Hospital and Medical Center, San Francisco, Calif.; and Richard K. Blankstein, Esq, Posternak Blankstein & Lund, LLP, Boston, Mass., and trustee, New England Sinai Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Stoughton, Mass.

About AHA

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to health improvement in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include almost 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the Web site at aha.

About the Section for Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation

The AHA's Section for Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation promotes the understanding of the health and related continuing care needs of persons of all ages. The Section is guided by a governing council of individuals representing health care leadership from some of the country's leading rehabilitation, long-term care, and skilled-nursing provider organizations and systems. Governing council members serve as representatives of their member peers. They provide input and participate in AHA's overall policy development process, often identifying and tracking issues of special interest to the types of organizations and services they represent. They play a liaison role with other health care and consumer organizations concerned with similar issues.

American Hospital Association