Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer

Don Snell is executive vice president, chief operating officer of Lahey Clinic, a nonprofit, multispecialty health care organization based in Burlington, Mass. In his role, Snell provides oversight for ambulatory clinics, hospitals and community group practices. He partners closely with Richard W. Nesto, MD, executive vice president, chief medical officer.

Snell most recently served as president and chief executive officer of MCG Health, Inc. in Augusta, Georgia, where he did a remarkable job for more than a decade. MCG Health, Inc. is an integrated delivery system supporting the Medical College of Georgia. In his role, he was responsible for overseeing an academic medical center comprised of a 483-bed adult hospital, 149-bed children’s medical center, ambulatory care center with 80 clinics, 110 off-site ambulatory care centers and the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center. He led the operational and financial turnaround of the medical center, which had seen five years of declining patient volume and a $25 million annual operating loss. Under Snell’s watch, MCG Health, Inc. experienced a 31 percent reduction in risk adjusted mortality, a $3,600 reduction in cost per case (or 36 percent), and a 40 percentile improvement in patient satisfaction scores (Press Ganey).

Prior to his role at MCG Health, Inc., he was the president and CEO of the Long Island College Hospital (LICH), where he led the organization through a significant merger with Continuum Health Partners, Inc., an integrated delivery system. In the mid-1990s, Snell served in several roles within the University of Pennsylvania Health System, including executive director/chief operating officer and chief executive officer for two hospitals.

He also successfully led day-to-day operations at Grady Health System/The Fulton Dekalb Hospital Authority in Atlanta, Georgia, and Detroit Medical Center Hutzel Hospital. He has a Master of Arts in Health Care Administration from the George Washington University.