Published on 05/24/2022
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Albert L. Wright, Jr., President and CEO of West Virginia University (WVU) Health System, today announced the appointment of Leslie Lawson, MBA, FACHE, as Vice President of Operations for WVU Medicine Thomas Health System. Lawson will begin his new role at Thomas Health System in late June.
“Leslie is a highly skilled and accomplished healthcare executive who has done an excellent job helping lead some of our most critical specialty services at our flagship hospital in Morgantown,” Wright said. “Her high energy, great leadership and unique combination of experiences in hospital and clinical operations, as well as hospital finance and reimbursement, made her the perfect fit for this role.”
Lawson’s appointment comes as Thomas Health System begins its new relationship with WVU Health System under a management agreement the two organizations announced last month. She is now an associate vice president of the Morgantown-based WVU Heart and Vascular Institute and previously served as an Institute Trustee and Executive Director of the WVU Medicine Stroke and Spine Centers.
Earlier in her healthcare career, she held leadership roles in Revenue Cycle and Payer Reimbursement and started with the WVU healthcare system over 20 years ago. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and earned an MBA from Waynesburg University and an undergraduate degree in finance from Kansas State University.
“I am thrilled to join the Thomas Health System team as they begin their transition and affiliation with the WVU Health System,” Lawson said. “I look forward to working closely with everyone there and helping them continue to build a truly great organization for the communities they serve.”
Media inquiries:
Angela Jones-Knopf, WVU Medicine Corporate Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs, 304-285-7259, [email protected]
Eriel Lauffer, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Thomas Health, 304-766-5952, [email protected]
