Serving Chicago’s northwest suburbs since 1959, NCH is a not-for-profit healthcare system dedicated to providing outstanding care in their surrounding communities. Their comprehensive, patient-centered system of care has dozens of locations throughout the area. Together, NCH serves more than 200,000 outpatients and treat more than 20,000 inpatients annually. The hospital houses a Level III NICU, Level II Trauma Center and a dedicated pediatric emergency department.
In January 2021, NCH joined NorthShore University HealthSystem. Headquartered in Evanston, NorthShore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system that includes six hospitals—Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park, Skokie, Swedish and now NCH. Together, the NorthShore system provides clinical excellence and community-focused care across Chicagoland.
QLK congratulates Michael Levon, Nimesh Jhaveri and Susan Graunke on their 2020 election as members of the Northwest Community Healthcare Board of Directors.
Michael Levon is president and CEO of Vonberg Valve, a manufacturer of hydraulic valves. The company was founded by his father in 1971, and Michael took over as president in 1981. With a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois, Michael is a critical thinker with strong analytical skills. He also brings financial and human resources acumen from leading Vonberg Valve. He has deep connections to the community built by his long-term residency in NCH’s service area, as well as his family’s healthcare experiences with the organization. Michael is a former board member of Cornerstone Bank and is a member of the President’s Circle at NCH.
Nimesh Jhaveri is a senior vice president within McKesson Corporation and president of the company’s community pharmacy division. Prior to joining McKesson, he spent almost three decades with Walgreens, rising from pharmacy tech to vice president of healthcare services. Nimesh is on the teaching faculty of Lake Forest Graduate School of Management from which he earned his MBA. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Rutgers University. Nimesh serves on the boards of Imerman Angels (which provides cancer support), Rutgers University, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and Illuminate Health (a tech-enabled medication management service provider), and he is a mentor for the healthcare incubator MATTER.
Sue Graunke founded Cowboy Dreams in 1999, an accredited, not-for-profit therapeutic horseback riding program for children with special needs. The program served hundreds of children under her day-to-day operational leadership. Sue is also the co-author and photographer of a Harper Collins-published children’s book that teaches lessons on kindness and has won over a dozen awards in children’s literature. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University, she began her career in marketing. Sue has served on the boards of Barrington Area Community Foundation and of ARKive, which digitally chronicles threatened species. She has a particular connection to NCH, where her father was a founding physician and medical staff president, and where she began working at the age of 14.
QLK’s Steve Derks and Roger Quick led the search efforts to recruit these new members to the NCH Board.
QLK congratulates Maria Thompson, Mukesh Gangwal and Ricardo Knight, MD. on their election as members of the 2021 Northwest Community Healthcare Board of Directors.
Maria Thompson is the global innovation process director for Illinois Tool Works (ITW). A technology leader focused on innovation strategy and change management, business transformation, operational excellence, and organizational capability improvement, she previously spent 16 years with Motorola in progressive roles, beginning as an engineering process manager and culminating as senior director of innovation strategy. Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and statistics from Iowa State University, and a master’s degree in math and computer science from the University of Waterloo. She is certified as a Six Sigma Yellow Belt and has eight patent filings. Maria is a frequent speaker on invention, innovation, creative problem-solving, and intellectual property management, and is co-author of three innovation management books.
Mukesh Gangwal currently co-leads Berkeley Research Group’s Healthcare Performance Improvement practice. An expert in large-scale performance improvement projects, revenue cycle management, physician services, and turnarounds, Mukesh co-founded Prism Healthcare Partners in 2013, and has consulted for community hospitals, health systems, and academic medical centers on improving their operational and financial performance for more than 30 years. He has served as partner and managing director for a Big Five accounting firm, a multinational management and technology consulting firm, and a global management consulting company, advising boards and C-suites on cost and revenue improvements. Mukesh holds an MBA from J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Ricardo Knight, MD, is medical director of the Mike Ditka IMAC Regeneration Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois, the spinal cord injury medical director for Van Matre HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Rockford, and a practicing physiatrist at Van Matre Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital in Rockford. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy and an MD from SUNY-Buffalo, as well as an MBA from the University of Chicago. Dr. Knight has served on faculty at Harvard Medical School, Northwestern University School of Medicine, and University of Illinois School of Medicine, and as a medical director with Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He founded Medlux Rehabilitation and Wellness in 2007 to provide medical oversight to rehabilitation patients and management consulting in the areas of finance, executive compensation, and accreditation. Dr. Knight also has a record of longstanding community engagement both locally and internationally, serving as a volunteer physician and on boards of directors for health and welfare organizations.
QLK’s Steve Derks, Roger Quick and Mary Sanderson led the search efforts to recruit these new members to the NCH Board.
