Alumni Bound by Mission in the Hudson Valley
Health care administrators and nurse alumni practice at a 10-hospital network in New York’s Hudson Valley, all with a shared mission that harks back to their Scranton days.
Pictured, from left, are, Marie Yezzo ‘01, Jack Burtis ‘15, G’18 and Elissa Chessari ‘02.
Marie Yezzo ’01 calls it “the Scranton domino effect.” As the vice president for professional support services at WMCHealth, a health care network in the Hudson Valley in New York that serves more than 3.5 million patients, she started hosting graduate students in Scranton’s Master of Health Administration program for their residency training five years ago. And she witnessed one Scranton graduate after another impress the hospital staff and go on to earn a full-time job in departments across the health system. A few have moved on to other hospitals, but five of those Royals remain: Jack Burtis ’15, G’18, Brittany Drake-Koo G’11, Sahar Malek ’10, G’12, Robert Patella G’17 and Connor Shanahan ’15, G’16, all working alongside Yezzo and Elissa Ches32
THE SCRANTON JOURN A L
sari ’02, who is the vice president of operations for Westchester Medical Center, the network’s flagship hospital. These are just seven of the Scranton alumni at WMCHealth using their Jesuit education to make an impact in health care.
The Mission For Chessari, the mission of WMCHealth resonates with her values and harks back to her years at Scranton. “Our mission statement at Westchester Medical Center is to provide the highest quality of care, regardless of ability to pay, and that is what initially drew me (here),” she said. “I suspect that this mission is what attracts and retains so many other Scranton alums.”
