SARANAC LAKE — Three new members have joined the Adirondack Health Board of Trustees.
The board of trustees is comprised of community volunteers who are directly responsible for the oversight of Adirondack Health. Trustees, who reside in villages and towns across the health network’s service area, are nominated by the board’s Governance Committee.
The board also said goodbye to some members whose terms expired: Sue Delehanty, Rebecca “Becky” Leahy, Randy Quayle and Dr. Jonathan Plehn.
Joining the board in 2024 are Virginia “Ginny” Valkenburgh, Ross Whaley and Eli Schwartzberg.
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Ross Whaley
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Valkenburgh
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Valkenburgh has spent summers in Lake Clear for more than 40 years and hails from Wilton, Connecticut. She is a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in management, marketing and consulting in diverse consumer packaged goods and healthcare. Most recently, she served as a senior vice president of Kantar Group, LTD, a global marketing insight and consulting firm, which works with brands like Campbell’s, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Wal-Mart, Target and PepsiCo, among many others.
She currently serves on the Wild Center museum board in Tupper Lake.
Valkenburgh is passionate about investing in the Adirondacks. She hopes to advocate for the board’s strategic priorities in sustainability and transformation of healthcare services and facilities for those living in and visiting the Adirondacks.
Eli Schwartzberg
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“Our family has enjoyed the Adirondacks and supported Adirondack communities for nearly a century,” she said. “I am eager to apply my education and experience in healthcare and marketing management to support the mission and vision of Adirondack Health in expanding healthcare access and enhancing the healthcare services and facilities for Adirondack communities.”
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Whaley
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Whaley makes his home on the shores of Upper Saranac in Tupper Lake and brings nearly 60 years of forestry and natural resource education and leadership to the board. He previously served as the chairman of the Adirondack Park Agency and was the president of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry for 16 years, among his many other positions in education and consulting. He has also served on several state government councils and task forces, and accepted consulting engagements throughout the world.
Whaley currently serves on the boards of Audubon of New York/Connecticut, the Northern Forest Center, and the Shingle Shanty Preserve and Research Station. He also serves on advisory boards for the Wild Center and Adirondack Foundation.
He is focused on furthering Adirondack Health’s quality of patient care, the welfare of its employees and assisting in relations with the executive and legislative branches of state government.
“I have been working with others on the economic vitality of Adirondacks communities, and critical to attracting new residents is the quality of healthcare,” Whaley said. “Therefore, the invitation to be involved, even in a small way, in the quality of healthcare in the Adirondacks was an honor.”
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Schwartzberg
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Schwartzberg is an Adirondack native and resides in Lake Placid. He brings extensive experience in healthcare operations, Department of Health compliance, construction and real estate development to the hospital board.
Schwartzberg owns and operates the Champlain Valley Senior Community, an 81-bed enhanced assisted living and memory care community located in Willsboro. He also owns and operates the Samuel F. Vilas Home in Plattsburgh, which is currently undergoing an expansive two-phase addition. The Vilas Home will have 136 beds when construction is complete.
He has previously served on the Lake Placid/North Elba Joint Housing Committee and is currently a member of the Lake Placid After School Program Board.
“I am interested in ensuring that the healthcare services in our area remain strong and continue to meet the needs of our local communities without sacrificing the high-quality care and diversity of services that Adirondack Health has delivered for decades,” he said.
Schwartzberg said he would like to leverage his healthcare and business knowledge to help Adirondack Health provide even better care and stay competitive with other hospital systems in the region.