Mercy Medical Center recently named a new leader to oversee hospital operations.
David D. Cemate joined the Canton hospital as senior vice president and chief operating officer. He replaces Jeff Smith, who retired from the organization in January.
“With more than 30 years of experience in health-care leadership, David possesses extensive skills in managing productivity and expenses to achieve operational goals,” Mercy President and Chief Executive Tom Cecconi said in a news release. “He also knows how to collaborate with physicians, mentor staff and champion quality and patient safety.”
Cemate previously served as vice president of clinical and support services at Akron General Medical Center from April 1991 through February 2002. He also worked at the former Mount Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland in several leadership roles from 1987 through 1989.
He most recently served as vice president of operations for Advocate Condell Medical Center and executive vice president and chief operating officer for St. Francis Hospital and Health Center, both in the Chicago area.
In an email interview, Cemate said he was attracted to the position at Mercy because he was “impressed with the quality of the medical staff and the superior services provided by the hospital.
“I was always aware of the exceptional reputation Mercy has in the community,” he said.
In his new role, Cemate oversees day-to-day operations of the hospital and its outpatient facilities.
“I am meeting with as many physicians, management team members and employees as possible to learn the nuances of the organization and to solicit their thoughts [and] ideas for improvement,” he said.
Cemate is married to Kathy, a registered nurse who currently works at a community hospital in suburban Chicago. He has three grown daughters.
The couple also have a golden retriever named Cameron, who competes in agility and is a certified therapy dog.
Cancer study enrollment
The American Cancer Society’s Northeast regional office is continuing to recruit hundreds of area residents for a long-term national research study examining lifestyle, environmental, genetic and other factors that could contribute to cancer.
The nonprofit is seeking 300,000 participants nationwide — and a total of 750 area residents — who agree to be followed for 20 years or longer as part of the Cancer Prevention Study-3.
By following people’s long-term medication use, activity levels and other habits and then tracking which participants develop cancer, researchers could potentially identify risk factors.
The study is open to people ages 30 to 65 with no personal history of cancer, except non-melanoma skin cancer. Registration for enrollment events is available at www.cancer.org/cps or by calling 888-604-5888.
Upcoming enrollment events include:
• Nordonia Hills YMCA, 8761 Shepard Road, Macedonia — 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
• Wadsworth YMCA, 623 School Drive — 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
• Canal Place, Building 24 fifth floor conference room, 520 S. Main St., Akron — 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. May 21.
• Riverfront YMCA, 544 Broad Blvd., Cuyahoga Falls — 3 to 6:30 p.m. May 22.
• University Park YMCA, 477 E. Market St., Akron — 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. May 23.
• Green YMCA, 3800 Massillon Road – 3 to 6:30 p.m. May 23.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.