NEWBURYPORT — Andrew Popelka Jr., MD, MBA, CPE, has been named chief medical officer and Megan Gray, DNP, RN, has been appointed chief nursing officer/chief operating officer of Anna Jaques Hospital, part of Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH).
Popelka and Gray both assumed their new roles May 12.
Popelka will oversee the medical staff in delivering the highest quality of care at Anna Jaques Hospital, as well as playing a strategic role in the areas of quality assurance and patient safety at Anna Jaques and across the BILH organization, according to hospital officials.
Gray will be responsible for developing and leading strategic priorities for Anna Jaques Hospital and directing its daily operations, with a primary focus on directing her team in providing an exceptional patient-centered care experience and safe, efficient, high-quality outcomes.
Popelka and Gray will join the Anna Jaques senior leadership team, led by Tom Sands, market president – North Shore for BILH and president of Addison Gilbert, Anna Jaques, BayRidge and Beverly Hospitals.
“We are thrilled to welcome Andrew and Megan to the leadership team at Anna Jaques Hospital,” Sands said. “Andrew’s vast background as a clinician focused on improving health care delivery and providing innovative and equitable care aligns with our values at Anna Jaques. Megan’s proven experience in both nursing and executive leadership roles makes her uniquely qualified to take on the position of chief nursing officer and chief operating officer. Together, their expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to position Anna Jaques in providing exceptional patient-centered care to our community.”
Popelka joined BILH in 2017, most recently serving as medical director of population health for Lahey Hospital & Medical Center (LHMC) in Burlington from 2020 to 2024. He previously served as director of population health for hospital medicine for LHMC from 2017 to 2020 and interim vice chair of hospital medicine from 2017 to 2019. In 2022, he took on the additional role of co-medical director of the Ambulatory Safety Net, a system-wide initiative focused on getting patients the care they need to reduce the risk of delayed cancer diagnoses.
Prior to coming to BILH, Popelka served as the division chair of hospital medicine at Southern New Hampshire Health and as a hospitalist at Foundational Medical Partners in New Hampshire and at Milford Regional Medical Center in Milford.
“I am honored to join the talented team at Anna Jaques Hospital and look forward to working with our accomplished medical professionals to continue expertly serving the overall health needs of the greater community with compassionate, equitable care,” Popelka said.
Gray previously served as an administrative nursing supervisor at Anna Jaques Hospital from 2010 to 2011. From 2009 to 2019, she worked in the University of New Hampshire’s nursing department as an assistant clinical professor and an adjunct faculty member.
She has held several roles at HCA New England over the last 10 years, including interim chief executive officer and chief nursing officer of Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New Hampshire, and associate chief nursing officer, director of the neuroscience service line and director of intermediate care areas at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
“I am thrilled to return to Anna Jaques Hospital in this role and I embrace the opportunity to utilize my nursing experience at the bedside, in education and in leadership to advance the longstanding mission of Anna Jaques as a highly valued community health care provider,” Gray said.