Platt and Cronenwett join Ludington Hospital board

April 6, 2016

The board of directors of Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital has approved two new members with leadership backgrounds in nursing, hospital quality and education.

Linda Cronenwett, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, is co-director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Executive Nurse Fellows Program, and dean emeritus and professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Cronenwett is a nationally-recognized leader in patient care quality initiatives for health care systems as well as individuals. She was principal investigator of a seven-year national initiative, Quality and Safety for Nurses. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Mark Platt is superintendent of Hart Public Schools, appointed to that position in 2013. He has a long career in teaching and education administration in Oceana and Muskegon counties. He was previously a principal in the Mona Shores School District for 13 years and won principal of the year for Region 12. He was one of the first people in the state to receive a specialty endorsement in leadership from MEMSPA, the association for elementary and middle schools principals. Prior to that, he worked in the Oakridge Public Schools (Muskegon County) for ten years as a teacher at the high school, dean of students at the middle school, and was on the football coaching staff when Oakridge won its first state championship.

“Linda Cronenwett is a renowned national leader in both nursing education and patient care quality initiatives, whose distinguished accomplishments and honors are beyond anything I’ve seen,” said board chair Ken Rocco. “Mark Platt is one of the leading education administrators in our region and has welcomed our Win with Wellness Fit Club into his schools. We are extremely fortunate to attract both of them to enhance the experience and depth of our board.”

Mark Platt lives in Hart. He earned both his undergraduate degree in education, marketing and distribution, and his master’s in education, from Central Michigan University. He has pursued additional post-graduate studies in organizational leadership at Madonna University in Livonia.

Dr. Cronenwett divides her time between homes in Ludington and North Carolina. She earned undergraduate and doctoral degrees in nursing from the University of Michigan. Her master’s degree in parent-child nursing is from the University of Washington. She has served as a board member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, The North Carolina Institute of Medicine, and as chair of the North Carolina Center of Hospital Quality and Patient Safety. She has also taught at Stanford University and the University of Michigan, and held nursing administrative leadership roles at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

She grew up in Summit Township, daughter of Russell and Florence Mary Houk, and graduated from Ludington High School in 1962. Early in her career she worked briefly at the hospital in Ludington when it was known as Memorial Medical Center.

Platt and Cronenwett were formally added to the board at the April 5 meeting.

The board of Ludington Hospital now stands at 16 members (one non-voting). Directors serve three year terms. Board officers are Ken Rocco, chair, Marc Lenz, vice chair, Jim Scatena, treasurer, Anthony Fabaz, DO, secretary, and Al Deering, past chair.

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