Senior Leadership Team

Paul Smith

President, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center

Paul Smith is President of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Steward Health Care’s flagship tertiary teaching hospital.  He is responsible for the delivery of exceptional, compassionate care to thousands of patients annually, maintaining the highest levels of quality and patient experience, and leading a skilled and deeply experienced senior leadership team. Throughout his career, Paul has been a successful executive at several major academic medical centers and community hospitals, leading growth initiatives and strategic planning.

Paul has risen through the ranks at Steward Health Care, starting as Director of Surgical Services at St. Elizabeth’s in 2014, serving as Vice President of Operations at Steward Holy Family Hospital, and then returning to St. Elizabeth’s as Chief Operating Officer.  During his tenure as COO, he helped lead the organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and drove the successful completion of numerous capital projects across the campus.  Previously he also served as the Chief Operating Officer for Saint Vincent Hospital and Tenet’s Massachusetts market and early in his career rose through the ranks at Cambridge Health Alliance.

Paul is a graduate of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, where he received a BA in Computer Science. He continued his education at the University of Massachusetts – Lowell, where he received an MS in Healthcare Management. He grew up in Cambridge and has always felt a deep commitment to serving the people of his native Massachusetts.

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Dianne Susan Charsha, DRNP, RN, FACHE, NEA-BC, NNP-BC

Chief Operating Officer

Dianne serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, with a clinical and leadership background in both community and academic settings. As COO, Dianne is responsible for all hospital operations and brings extensive knowledge and experience in nursing to the position. She is responsible for hospital operations, planning and oversight and implementation of operational strategy to improve efficiencies, patient care and service. Dianne has served as a research associate and primary investigator at Drexel University, and has presented on topics ranging from neonatal medicine to nursing leadership to audiences around the country.

Prior to joining St. Elizabeth's Dianne served in many nursing leadership positions, including Director of Neonatal Services, Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services, Chief Nursing Officer at Camden University Hospital in New Jersey, Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in Virginia, and Vice President/Chief Nurse and Clinical Operations Officer for Women and Children’s of Hospital of Buffalo/Oishei Children’s Hospital, Kaleida Health System, in New York State.

Dianne holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Drexel University, a Post Graduate Nurse Practitioner, Neonatal and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wilkes College.

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David Callum

Chief Financial Officer

David Callum is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, a tertiary teaching hospital and the flagship of Steward Health Care’s Massachusetts hospital network.

David has extensive experience as a financial and business executive and served as CFO and Controller for several local business including Old Neighborhood Foods and AM PM Cleaning Corporation. David ran all financial aspects of the companies, established price points and internal financial controls, increased profits and negotiated essential relationships with banking and insurance companies.

As a business executive, David served as Director of Baseball America Clinics and Owner of Top 96, Inc. He built Top 96, Inc into a robust nationwide network of clinics for high school players. As owner of Top 96, David created a national showcase for high school baseball players to be seen by recruiting college coaches and was responsible for growth, innovation, and the use of technology to expand operations from eight to 40 events nationally. The successful spinoff, Ready Set Register, LLC, provides software programs that other camps can use for successful operations.

David received his BA in accounting from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He has volunteered in several capacities, including the Board of Directors of Epstein Hillel Academy, as President of IAABO #130, and is a High School Varsity Basketball official.

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Nicole Pecquex, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Nicole Pecquex is Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (SEMC). As CMO she leads the medical staff to ensure patient care is of the highest quality, meets the standards set by the hospital’s quality metrics, and contributes to high patient satisfaction. Dr. Pecquex also serves as Director of Bariatric Surgery, Assistant Surgical Residency Program Director, and sits on the hospital’s Executive and ICU committees.

Dr. Pecquex is a board-certified surgeon with a long and stellar career at SEMC. She began her medical career as a General Surgeon Attending and grew through the ranks to become Assistant Surgical Residency Program Director, Credential Committee Chair, and then CMO. Dr. Pecquex also serves as Assistant Professor of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine and previously was Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Dr. Pecquex obtained her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine Boston, completed her internship and residency in general surgery at SEMC and served as Chief Resident in General Surgery. She completed a Fellowship in Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery at the University of Massachusetts. She then returned to SEMC and has built multiple bariatric centers in the Steward network that have obtained MBSAQIP accreditation. 

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Jeanne Kelly, MSN, RN

Chief Nursing Officer, VP Patient Care Services

As Chief Nursing Officer, VP Patient Care Services, Jeanne is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the overall Nursing/Patient Care Services operations of St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, a 310 tertiary care facility. She ensures all patient care complies with quality standards set to guide the care of all age groups ranging from neonate to geriatric patients. Jeann is also responsible for maintaining performance improvement activities within the department and collaborates with nursing leadership to achieve the most important goal of quality patient outcomes. towards a crucial goal: to achieve quality patient outcomes.

Jeanne knows nursing at St. Elizabeth's well, having served in many positions during her tenure at the hospital, including cardiac cath lab registered nurse and charge nurse, Nurse Manager, Director of Nursing and Cardiovascular Services, Senior Director of Nursing and Critical Care Services, and Associate Chief Nursing Officer. Jeanne is a graduate of St. Elizabeth's School of Nursing, holds a BSN from Chamberlain School of Nursing, an MSN in Nursing, Executive Leadership from Chamberlain University and is a Doctoral Candidate in the Baylor University Executive Leadership Program.

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