Leadership at Jefferson Hospital

Chong Park, MD, FACS, has served as the president of Jefferson Hospital, as well as Canonsburg Hospital, since June 2020. A practicing cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Park has also served as Jefferson’s chief medical officer, and before that he held numerous hospital medical staff committee positions, including chair of the Department of Surgery and medical director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Jefferson.

Dr. Park received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Jefferson College, his graduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and his medical degree from Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He completed his post-graduate residencies at Brown University (general surgery), and at Allegheny General Hospital (cardiothoracic surgery).

Dr. Park is certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and International Society of Endovascular Specialists, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and a Diplomat on the National Board of Medical Examiners. He is a member of the Allegheny County Medical Association, Pennsylvania Association for Thoracic Surgery and Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Under Dr. Park’s leadership, Jefferson Hospital has achieved national acclaim for its excellent outcomes and quality initiatives, including its exceptional care for cardiovascular and thoracic patients. The Cardiac Surgical Program has achieved the highest 3-Star Ratings from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for its excellence in caring for its complex cardiac surgical patients.

Most recently, Jefferson Hospital achieved Magnet recognition status, reflecting its nursing professionalism, teamwork and superiority in patient care; only 9% of hospitals nationwide achieve nursing Magnet status.

Kelly Kassab is the Chief Operating Officer of Jefferson Hospital. Ms. Kassab Kelly is responsible for the operational performance of Jefferson Hospital, which employs more than 500 physicians, plus clinical and support staff of more than 1,000.

Kelly joined the AHN in 2016, initially serving as the vice president of operation for the Physician Services. Prior to joining AHN, Kelly served in a variety of operational management positions at UPMC, including a role as vice president of operations for the UPMC Cancer Center.

She is a graduate of UNC Charlotte with a BS in Business Administration, and received a master’s in Healthcare Administration from the Chapel Hill School of Public Health. Kelly is also a graduate of Leadership Development Initiative of Leadership Pittsburgh.

She currently sits on the board of LifeSpan, Inc., a non-profit agency providing critical support and services for residents of Allegheny County ages 60 and over.

Rebecca McClaine, MD, is chief medical officer for AHN Jefferson Hospital.

A respected general surgeon, Dr. McClaine previously served as chief of the Department of Surgery at Jefferson and Canonsburg Hospitals and is the current medical director of the Bethel Park Ambulatory Surgery Center, and secretary/treasurer of the Jefferson Medical Staff.

Dr. McClaine is also chairman of the Clinical Resource Management Committee and serves as a member of several hospital committees at Jefferson, including peri-operative committee, credentials committee, new products & value analysis committee, and peer review committee.

A native of Clarion, Pa., Dr. McClaine received her medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., and her Bachelor of Science degree from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa. She completed her general surgery internship and residency at the University of Cincinnati.

While at the University of Cincinnati, Dr. McClaine was involved in basic science breast cancer research and clinical research in surgical oncology. She is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. McClaine is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She holds memberships with the Central Surgical Association and the Association for Academic Surgery.

Joy Peters (DNP, RN, MSN, MBA, NEA-BC) serves as the chief nursing officer two AHN hospitals, Jefferson and Canonsburg. Prior to her appointment to the CNO role, she served as the associate nurse executive at Jefferson, among several other nursing leadership roles.

Dr. Peters received her diploma in nursing from the Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Penn State University. She earned a dual Master of Nursing and Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, and received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Carlow University.

She is published in professional journals such as Nursing and Nursing Science Quarterly, and she is certified as a Nurse Executive (advanced) through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Dr. Peters is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., within the university’s nursing doctorate and BSN-to-DNP program.

Professional and personally active, Dr. Peters is a member of the Southwest Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders, the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders, and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.

John J. Smith is AHN Jefferson Hospital’s chief financial officer, and a key member of the financial leadership teams at AHN and Highmark Health. Prior to his appointment as hospital CFO, Mr. Smith was the director of Forecast and Budget for AHN.

As Jefferson’s CFO, he is responsible for the hospital’s overall financial performance and, along with the Jefferson leadership team, sets the strategic direction for Jefferson’s business plans and capital investments, ensuring that they support overall network and enterprise goals.

Prior to joining AHN, Mr. Smith was a senior accountant with Grossman Yanak & Ford LLP, in Pittsburgh.

He earned a BS in Business Administration Accounting from Robert Morris University and is a Certified Public Accountant.