Joseph T. Sebastianelli Named President of Jefferson Health System

Health-care leader and innovator Joseph T. Sebastianelli has been selected as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Jefferson Health System (JHS), headquartered in Radnor, Pa.
He will succeed Douglas S. Peters who announced in October that he would step down as president of JHS. At that time, the JHS Board, chaired by Paul C. Brucker, M.D., established a planning process to identify a successor to lead JHS through its next phase of development, with the assistance of Mr. Peters. Mr. Sebastianelli will become its next CEO effective February 1.

“The JHS board was impressed with his experience and his knowledge of health care in the Philadelphia market, and felt he would make a strong contribution to JHS’ direction and future,” said Dr. Brucker. “The Jefferson Health System has prospered, while remaining true to its mission of providing high quality and cost-effective patient care to our community. With the ongoing economic and health-care challenges present in our environment, we will need Joe to help us work through our future development. His insights will be invaluable to us as we face the future.”

Mr. Sebastianelli has a long and distinguished career in the health care and insurance industries as well as the legal profession. He currently serves as Chairman and CEO of RealMed Corporation, which is based in Indianapolis, Ind. The corporation has contracts with several large Blue Cross/Blue Shield organizations and numerous provider groups to adjudicate health benefit claims on a real time basis. He also served on the board of Universal Health Services.

Mr. Sebastianelli stated that he was “pleased to be returning to the Philadelphia area to lead the premier health system in the region.”

Highlights of his career include serving as president of Aetna, Inc., and co-president of US Healthcare. He was also executive vice president of Scripps Health in San Diego, Calif. Mr. Sebastianelli also held positions at Blue Cross of Greater Philadelphia, now known as Independence Blue Cross. He began his career as an associate in the office of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius in the area of health insurance litigation. He graduated with highest honors from Villanova University School of Law in 1971.

The Jefferson Health System was formed through the merger of the Main Line Health System and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, which was legally separated from the University in 1996. Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Frankford Health Care System and Magee Rehabilitation became additional founding members of the system in 1998. JHS also now includes long-term care, behavioral health, a rehabilitation network, as well as physician and home-health services. Its strategic alliance partners include Riddle Memorial Hospital, Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, Underwood-Memorial Hospital, AtlanticCare and Christiana Care Health System in Delaware.

The Jefferson Health System grew from a concept to being the largest, most successful health system in the Delaware Valley with the greatest geographic coverage and market share. JHS brought together five significant provider networks into the region’s only major not-for-profit health system operating as a decentralized model.

Published : 1-22-2002

Media Only Contact:
Phyllis Fisher
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: 215/955-6300

Please click here for a high resolution JPG or Mr. Sebastianelli
To download this image, you can right click on this link and select "Save Target As..." or you can click on the link and then right click on the image and select "Save Picture As...". Make sure to note where you have saved the photo.

Read the news coverage about this story:

Jefferson to name its new president
(Published 1-22-2002, Philadelphia Inquirer) With a background in health care as well as insurance and law, the Internet company chairman will start in Feb.