MyMichigan Health President and CEO Diane Postler-Slattery and her husband, Don Slattery, died in a plane crash Tuesday, the health system announced.
The Midland, Michigan-based not-for-profit company named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Rogers as acting CEO.
“This is a great tragedy for our health system,” Rogers said in a news release. “Diane was a strong, passionate and inspirational leader and was beloved by her family, friends and colleagues. We ask that you keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers, and that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
Postler-Slattery, 62, had led MyMichigan Health since 2013. Previously, she was president and COO of Aspirus Wausau Hospital and senior vice president of quality and extended services for Wausau, Wisconsin-based Aspirus Health Care.
“She was a visionary and, under her leadership, we greatly expanded our health system, including affiliations with our medical centers in Alpena, West Branch and, most recently, Sault St. Marie,” Rogers said. “As a nurse herself, she was committed to patient care and the highest level of safety and patient satisfaction.”
Postler-Slattery earned a doctorate in education administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received a master’s degree in nursing and nursing administration and a bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
The couple were aboard Don Slattery’s small aircraft, which went down near Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. The pair had traveled from Michigan via Tennessee and disappeared from radar about two miles north of the airport, the law enforcement agency reported.
The couple is survived by three children and five grandchildren, according to MyMichigan Health.