Allspire health consortium names new president

Paul J. Tirjan, who has more than 20 years of experience as a health care executive and entrepreneur, will start Aug. 8.

Tirjan was the vice president of ambulatory care at Universal Health Services Inc., a Fortune 500 company in King of Prussia.

“Paul’s history as a successful health care entrepreneur fits well with AHP’s mission to help members develop new solutions for today’s ever-changing health care environment,” said Dr. Brian Nester, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Health Network.

In Tirjan’s previous job, he was responsible for ambulatory care strategy, development, growth and profitability.

Over his career, Tirjan served in a variety of executive management positions at companies that pioneered the latest diagnostic cardiology and patient monitoring systems, and grew companies from small startups into profitable publicly traded companies.

In two years, he helped turn CardioNet from a diagnostic service company with $7 million in revenue to $40 million in revenue ready for an initial public offering.

Ed Dougherty, chairman of AHP’s development’s committee and senior vice president and chief business development officer for LVHN, called Tirjan “a visionary, disciplined, strategic thinkers and motivational team leader who will help AllSpire achieve its mission for the benefit of the community it serves.”

AHP was created in 2013 to improve quality, reduce health care costs and shift to a regional population focus. Its members include LVHN, Reading Health System, Wellspan Health, Atlantic Health System and Hackensack Meridian Health.

Aspire recently created a group purchasing organization to help reduce costs. Its formation is expected to create up to 12 jobs when it is located at a new office in the Lehigh Valley.