October 01, 2014

Dee Ellingwood has been named senior vice president of Strategy, Communications and Public Affairs. Starting Monday, Nov. 17, he will lead TriHealth's strategic planning efforts, along with the Corporate Planning/Business Development and Marketing Communications departments.

For the past 10 months, Dee has served as an executive-on-loan from Cincinnati Children's for The Health Collaborative. He is the lead executive on the Collective Impact on Health initiative, which has convened a diverse group of stakeholders to agree on common goals, meant to better the health status of Greater Cincinnati residents and improve health care while reducing costs. The initiative also will develop a coordinated approach to achieve those goals.

Prior to working for The Health Collaborative, Dee served as senior vice president of planning and business development at Children's from 1997 to 2013.

"Dee is a well-respected health care executive who has served as the top strategic planning and business development professional within hospital systems for close to 25 years," said John Prout, president and CEO.

"He has a deep knowledge and understanding of all functional responsibilities associated with this role. He knows this health care market well and has been successful everywhere he has worked. I have had the privilege to work with Dee on a number of community-based projects since meeting him in 1998. I know he will be an asset to TriHealth."

In addition to his 17 years of experience in the Cincinnati health care market, Dee also served as the vice president of network development, planning and managed care at Christus Spohn Health System in Corpus Christi, Texas, from 1990 to 1996. Before that, he spent 12 years in health care consulting, based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"TriHealth is a proven leader in improving the health of and health care delivery to our community," Dee said. "I look forward to working with John and the leadership of TriHealth and being a part of the innovative TriHealth team, known for their continuous commitment to excellence, quality and service."    

Dee earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the University of Utah. He currently serves on the board of directors of Meridian Bioscience Inc. and Tennis for Charity, as well as the advisory board of Xcelerated Learning Dynamics.

He recently served on the boards of trustees of Cincinnati USA Partnership, Tri-Ed Foundation and the Health Improvement Collaborative. His previous board appointments include Greater Cincinnati Health Council, Uptown Consortium, HealthBridge of Cincinnati and Ohio Children's Hospital Association.