July 1, 2024
Audrey Meyers, Long-Serving System CEO, Assumes Role of CEO Emeritus
Adding to his current responsibilities of System President, Valley Health System has announced the promotion of Robert Brenner, MD, MMM, FACHE, to the position of System President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Brenner will replace long-serving System CEO Audrey Meyers, FACHE, who will assume the role of System CEO Emeritus.
As President and CEO of Valley Health System, Dr. Brenner, in partnership with the Valley Health System Board of Trustees, will serve as a member of the System Board and lead the System’s overall vision, strategy development, future program and service expansion, and the operations of the System’s three entities – The Valley Hospital, Valley Home Care, and Valley Medical Group. Valley Health System includes its new hospital in Paramus, New Jersey, a home care and hospice agency, a medical group, and more than 100 outpatient medical practice and treatment locations.
“I feel privileged to have the opportunity to serve our patients, our staff, our volunteers, and the community,” said Dr. Brenner. “I am unbelievably fortunate to be working with such a talented and dedicated Board of Trustees and a skilled, high-performing leadership team. I thank the Board and Valley’s leadership and staff – especially Audrey Meyers – for their confidence and support.”
Meyers has assumed the role of System CEO Emeritus and an Honorary Trustee of the Valley Health System Board of Trustees. Meyers will also continue to be a member of The Valley Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees. As System CEO Emeritus, Meyers is overseeing the repurposing of Valley Health System – Ridgewood Campus, where she will maintain an office. In addition to relocating System clinical services and business functions from other locations to the Ridgewood Campus, Meyers is also looking at opportunities to expand the continuum of healthcare services in Ridgewood to enhance Valley’s ability to care for the community.
“It has been my honor to be a part of the Valley family for more than 44 years and a privilege to lead Valley for more than 25 years,” said Meyers. “Having recently celebrated the milestone of opening our new campus in Paramus, it is the right time to appoint Rob as our System President and CEO,” said Meyers. “He has the vision, the experience, the talent, and the skills to ensure Valley’s continued success.”
Kevin Lobo, Chair of the Valley Health System Board of Trustees, said, “The entire Board wants to express their deepest thanks to Audrey for her years of visionary leadership and success, culminating in the opening of the new Paramus hospital campus. We are so fortunate to have Audrey lead the transformation of Ridgewood into an ambulatory care campus.”
“Valley has embarked on a new and exciting chapter,” continued Lobo, “one that will enhance the care it will provide its patients and the community in ways previously unseen. Against that backdrop, we are pleased to appoint Rob as System President and CEO. His passion for employing innovative ways to manage care, his dedication to educating the next generation of doctors, and his ability to prepare for the future of healthcare will serve Valley and the community very well. On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, we look forward to working with Rob and the leadership team to ensure Valley’s continued growth and success.”
“My priority is to maintain Valley’s extraordinary culture,” said Dr. Brenner. “Valley is an incredibly special place, and I am privileged to continue to uphold its values of serving and caring. Secondly, Valley’s hallmark of success has been continued growth. With our new acute care facility, the expansion of our network, and the start of graduate medical education, Valley is at a new beginning with a very bright future. I am honored to lead Valley at this momentous time in its history.”
About Robert Brenner, MD, MMM, FACHE
Robert Brenner, MD, MMM, FACHE, joined Valley in 2015 as Valley Health System’s first Senior Vice President and Chief Physician Executive. In 2019, he was appointed President of Clinical Integration and Physician Enterprise; in January 2024, he was appointed President of Valley Health System. Prior to joining Valley, Dr. Brenner served as the Chief Medical Officer of Summit Medical Group and as a Senior Executive at Mountainside Hospital/Atlantic Health System.
During his tenure at Valley, Dr. Brenner has led the development and growth of Valley’s Population Health program, which oversees the coordination of care for more than 90,000 individuals; the launch of ColigoCare, Valley’s nationally acclaimed Clinically Integrated Network encompassing a Medicare Accountability Organization that was recently recognized as the No. 1 accountable care organization in New Jersey for quality outcomes; and, in affiliation with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the initiation of Valley’s first two Graduate Medical Education programs in Internal Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology in July 2024.
Dr. Brenner has also played a significant role in the growth of Valley’s award-winning Valley Medical Group, Valley Home Care, and the planning of Valley’s new hospital in Paramus, which opened in April 2024.
Dr. Brenner received his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons/Overlook Hospital Family Medicine Internship and Residency Program. Dr. Brenner holds a master’s degree in medical management from the Carnegie Mellon University-Heinz School of Public Policy and Management and completed the New York University Stern Strategic Leadership Program. He served as a physician in the United States Air Force and earned a U.S. Air Force Commendation and Meritorious Service Medal.
Dr. Brenner has served on the Board of the New Jersey Hospital Association since 2020 and was recently appointed Board Secretary and Chair of the Association’s Audit and Compliance Committee. He also serves on the CEO Board of Managers and the Strategy Committee of New Jersey’s Healthcare Transformation Consortium, which seeks opportunities to enhance quality and efficiency of care throughout the state. He was a member of the American Medical Group Association Foundation Board and served as Chair from 2019 to 2020.
Dr. Brenner is a national speaker and is known for his presentations on producing value in healthcare, managing effective healthcare systems and multispecialty group practices, and the meaningful use of health information technologies.
About Audrey Meyers, FACHE
Audrey Meyers, FACHE, served as Chief Executive Officer of Valley Health System, a nationally recognized regional healthcare system serving northern New Jersey and southern New York. During her more than 40-year career with Valley, she has held key executive leadership positions in strategic planning, management, operations, and governance.
As CEO, Meyers was responsible for the strategic and day-to-day operations of one of New Jersey’s busiest hospitals, ranked among the top three hospitals in the state by U.S. News and World Report, included as one of the World’s Best Hospitals by Newsweek, and in the top 2% of hospitals nationwide as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades. She also oversaw a busy home care agency, and an award-winning medical group of close to 500 physicians and advanced practice providers across 50 specialties and multiple locations.
In addition, Meyers led the organization through a successful debt offering to support the construction of an $868 million state-of-the-art replacement hospital on a new 40-acre site in Paramus, New Jersey. As part of the ribbon cutting event for the new hospital, Meyers introduced her recently published book, A Privilege to Serve, which tells the story of Valley and the journey to being one of the region’s premier health systems. The hospital was successfully relocated from Ridgewood to Paramus on Sunday, April 14, 2024, providing a first-class health and wellness destination for the entire region.
Under Meyers leadership, Valley thrived as one of the few successful standalone hospital systems in the country through the development of key strategic relationships with leading national healthcare systems; fostering a culture of service, performance, and high reliability; and driving a rigorous systemwide approach to margin enhancement through growth and cost control. Since first becoming President in 1999, revenue has grown from $250 million to over $1 billion.
Meyers is included as one of the top leaders in both the NJBIZ Power 100 list as well as its list of the Health Care Power 50. In 2024, she was recognized by ROI-NJ as one of the top three female leaders and one of the most influential individuals in the business world on the Super 60 Power List. Later in July, Meyers will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey Hospital Association in recognition of her 44 years of service to Valley.
About Valley Health System
Valley Health System is a regional healthcare system in northern New Jersey. It includes The Valley Hospital, a 370-bed, not-for-profit, regional acute-care hospital that has been consistently recognized for quality care and patient satisfaction; Valley Home Care, a home care and hospice agency; and Valley Medical Group, a multispecialty group practice of almost 500 doctors and advanced practice professionals representing over 50 medical and surgical specialties who practice at The Valley Hospital in Paramus, Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care in Paramus, eight walk-in and primary care centers in New Jersey, and many community-based physician practices throughout the region.
Valley Health System is one of the most honored healthcare organizations in New Jersey. Our awards and recognitions are a testament to the exceptional, distinctive care our providers and staff deliver every day.
For more information, please visit ValleyHealth.com.