JACKSON SQ.—Children’s Hospital Boston (CHB) has announced the selection of James “Jim” Cote as the executive director of Martha Eliot Health Center (MEHC), a community health center located at 34 Bickford St., which is licensed and operated by Children’s. Cote will officially assume this new position on July 2.
A well respected health care administrator with 20 years of health care management experience, Cote has a track record of leadership, primarily at Children’s, MEHC and Boston Medical Center. During the past year, he has served as a key interim leader at the health center with great success.
Cote and the health center team have completed the first phase of the center’s electronic medical record transfer, prepared the health center for a successful visit by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and expanded enrollment efforts for the state’s new health care coverage.
“Jim’s long-term commitment to and understanding of the health center, its patients, staff, and local community, were critically important factors in our selection process,” said Sandra Fenwick, chief operating officer of Children’s. “He has served as a key leader at MEHC for the past year, working hand-in-hand with a highly talented and committed team to improve care, service, and access to the health center as well as to strengthen our team through recruitment.”
In accepting this position, Cote has come full circle. He started his health care career at MEHC as operation’s manager in 1992. In 2005, he was promoted to Children’s director of ambulatory services after serving for more than five years as practice administrator for the Department of Orthopedics. Prior to working at Children’s, Cote served as Boston Medical Center’s administrative director of their obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) faculty practice plan, having been promoted from the practice manager position.
“During his most recent years at Children’s, Jim earned a solid reputation for launching best practice operational and service programs and developing systems to track and benchmark performance,” said Mark Marcantano, vice president of ambulatory and network services at Children’s.
Cote holds an MBA with a specialty in health care administration and marketing from University of Massachusetts/Boston and a B.A. in biology from Saint Joseph’s College in North Windam, Maine. He has completed significant training in areas such as diversity, executive leadership, ambulatory management, physician practice management and customer service. Cote has deep local roots, having lived in Boston for 21 years, including 10 years in Jamaica Plain. He now lives in West Roxbury.
As MEHC’s new executive director, his immediate priorities are to strengthen and possibly expand current clinical programs, assess and respond to the community’s unique needs, launch a successful community health fair this summer, and celebrate the health center’s 40th anniversary this fall. He will continue to foster a positive work environment that encourages a collaborative approach to finding solutions.
Martha Eliot Health Center is Children’s Boston’s community health center in Jamaica Plain. Established in 1966, it represents more than 30 years of the hospital’s commitment to the children of Boston. MEHC provides comprehensive pediatric, adolescent, adult and OB/GYN medical services including: adult, adolescent and pediatric primary care, diabetes, pre-diabetes weight control clinic for youth, domestic violence, HIV, nutrition services, WIC nutrition services, mental health, OB/GYN, optometry, phlebotomy, substance abuse.
Children’s Hospital Boston has been called the nation’s premier pediatric medical center. Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, today it is a 347-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care, extolling the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. More than 100 outpatient specialty clinics are located at Children’s. Children’s is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, home to a well-known pediatric research enterprise, and the largest provider of health care to the children of Massachusetts. For more information about the hospital visit:www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.
Submitted by Children’s Hospital.