Saint Joseph Mercy Health System Names Benjamin S. Miles New President of St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea

CHELSEA, Mich. (March 21, 2022) – Saint Joseph Mercy Health System announced that Benjamin S. Miles has been named the new president of St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea, succeeding Nancy Graebner-Sundling, who began her retirement last week. Miles' first day on the job will be April 18.

Miles joins a strong and established leadership team led by Chief Medical Officer, Alon Weizer, MD; Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Clinical Services, Cheryl Taylor, RN; Chief Human Resources Officer, Tonia Schemer, and Executive Director of Finance, Shannon Scott.

“Ben has a proven reputation as a results-oriented health care leader, bringing expertise in strategy, operations, process improvement, project management and finance,” said Shannon Striebich, senior vice president of operations at Trinity Health Michigan. “He is an articulate, effective communicator able to clearly translate complex concepts, which will help to strengthen understanding and alignment throughout our Chelsea hospital. We are grateful to Nancy for her dynamic, caring leadership over the past 10 years and we wish Ben great success in his new role.”

Over his career, Miles has developed strong relationships across teams to achieve business growth while helping improve the quality and range of health care services. Most recently, he served as the President – Health Plan Services & Chief Advocacy Officer at Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he significantly expanded the system’s market share while building loyalty to the hospital among patients and their families. Miles leveraged his communication and relationship-building skills to connect with national and state legislators to align leaders in the creation of effective health care policies.

"We are excited to be working with a talented, innovative leader such as Ben as we continue to grow and expand health care offerings in Chelsea," said Jeff Desmond, M.D., chairman of St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea’s Joint Venture Board. "While we look forward to the future, we are deeply grateful for the strong foundation provided by Nancy and the continued dedication of the entire St. Joe's Chelsea team."

Miles earned his Master of Business Administration from Walsh College and his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Wayne State University. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and American Society for Quality (ASQ), along with numerous community groups to help improve health care and support diversity and inclusion efforts.

About St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea


St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea (SJMC) is a not-for-profit joint venture hospital, whose partners are Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, a member of national Catholic health care system Trinity Health based in Livonia, Mich., and Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan. Founded in 1970, SJMC is nationally recognized for both quality of care and patient satisfaction by national ranking organization Press Ganey, and is accredited by the Joint Commission. SJMC employs more than 1,200 individuals with a medical staff of approximately 700 physicians. Key services include robust medical and surgical service lines, eight operating rooms, a 24-hour emergency department and senior emergency room, a state-of-the-art cancer center, a physical medicine and rehabilitation department and behavioral health services.

For additional information about SJMC, please visit www.stjoeschelsea.org.