LEWISTON — Central Maine Healthcare has hired a new chief nursing officer, replacing Sharron Chalke, who resigned in January.
Mary-Anne Ponti started this week.
Ponti has more than 30 years experience in nursing and health care administration. She last worked as an independent coach and consultant for health-care leadership in Michigan. She has also served as COO and chief nursing officer at McLaren Northern Michigan, a health-care group that serves about 450,000 residents in rural northern Michigan.
At CMHC, Ponti will focus on patient care, directing nursing throughout the system.
Her predecessor, Chalke, quit in January, the same week Central Maine Medical Center President Tina Legere resigned.
Chalke worked for CMMC and its parent, CMHC, for more than 32 years, first as a nurse, then as a nurse manager, then as administrator. She had been chief nursing officer for the system since about 2009.
Chalke is the wife of Peter Chalke, who retired as head of CMHC in 2016. He was succeeded by current CEO Jeff Brickman, who started in September.
“Anytime you go through a major transition, decisions get made about who wants to come on board,” CMHC spokeswoman Ericka Dodge said at the time.
She added that “each of them made their own decision to move on.”
CMHC is still looking for a new CMMC president. Brickman is serving as both system CEO and interim president for CMMC until a new president is hired.
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Mary-Anne Ponti
Mary-Anne Ponti
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