HEALTHCARE
Summa Health names first permanent CEO, president as for-profit entity
Patrick WilliamsAkron Beacon Journal
Updated Aug. 3, 2026, 2:57 p.m. ET
- Jennifer Eslinger will start as president and CEO of Akron-based Summa Health Sept. 21, just less than a year after HATCo purchased the hospital system.
- Eslinger most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Rochester Regional Health, a $4.2 billion integrated health system.
- Daryl Tol, president and CEO of HATCo, has served as Summa’s acting president and CEO since Jan. 1. Tol will remain president and CEO of HATCo and will work closely with Eslinger.
This story has been updated with additional information
An experienced health care leader will take the reins as Summa Health’s new president and CEO just less than a year after the purchase of the hospital system that transformed it into a for-profit entity
Jennifer Eslinger will begin the leadership roles at the Akron-based health care system Sept. 21 following a nationwide candidate search, according to a news release from Summa, which has been owned by Health Assurance Transformation Company since Oct. 1
With more than two decades of experience as an executive leader, Eslinger most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Rochester Regional Health, a $4.2 billion integrated health system. There, she led transformation, growth and improvement of quality and performance
Before that, Eslinger served in senior leadership with Henry Ford Health, HCA Healthcare, Mobile Infirmary Health System and Tenet Healthcare
“I honestly could not be more humbled and honored to have been selected to take on this opportunity within Summa – just really had such a tremendous learning over the past several months,” Eslinger said
Eslinger has experience working in another innovative canal town
Eslinger said she and her husband have discussed similarities between Akron and Rochester, New York, where Rochester Regional Health is based. She called them both communities with “a long history of innovation, of really wanting to be (at the) front of their game, front of their industry.”
And because of similarities between the two historic canal towns, Eslinger said Akron already “feels like home.”
HATCo CEO applauds Eslinger’s leadership, flexibility to focus on future
Daryl Tol, president and CEO of Summa parent company Health Assurance Transformation Company (HATCo), has served as Summa’s acting president and CEO since Jan. 1, when Dr. Cliff Deveny transitioned from president and CEO to CEO emeritus and strategic adviser
HATCo headquarters are currently co-located with Summa’s corporate office on Gorge Boulevard in Akron, said Tol, who lives in Hudson
Tol will remain president and CEO of HATCo and will work closely with Eslinger as she begins leading Summa, the release said. Deveny will also work with Eslinger during 2026, but he plans to professionally step away from Summa at the end of the year, Tol said
Eslinger will embark on what she called a “learning and listening tour” of Summa when she begins. Ahead of that, though, Tol said it’s evident that Eslinger brings multiple important qualifications to the job
“Jennifer comes with rigorous operating experience, which we certainly need,” Tol said. “Health care is a tough industry, and Jennifer knows how to lead. Even more importantly to me, Jennifer knows how to bring a team along and how to have the mental agility to think about the future instead of being baked in the past and rigid about continuing the status quo.”
Another Summa leader, Kate Walsh, chair of the health care system’s board of directors, said in the release, “Jennifer is an accomplished healthcare leader with deep experience driving operational and clinical excellence, embracing innovation and creating a culture of curiosity and continuous improvement. She has both the judgment and values to build on Summa Health’s strong foundation while accelerating our impact in the communities we serve and helping shape the future of healthcare.”
Eslinger, Tol plan to help front-line workers focus more on patients
As Summa’s president and chief executive, Eslinger will continue to transform the hospital system by strengthening its quality, financial sustainability, impact and digital innovation, the news release said. Summa Health became a privately owned for-profit on Oct. 1, when it was acquired by HATCo, a subsidiary of venture capital firm General Catalyst
Eslinger said she has experience working in for-profit health care, between roles at HCA, Tenet and the health care company formerly known as HealthSouth, which is now Encompass Health Corporation
Whether a health care system is for-profit or nonprofit, Eslinger said, affects the balance sheet but “doesn’t matter so much to the front line.”
She added that front-line workers “just want to know that they have the tools that they need to do the incredible work that they are showing up to do every day.”
Eslinger and Tol said Summa plans to expand the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence to help health care consumers manage their health and to allow front-line workers to focus more on patient care
“It is not lost on any of us that we cannot expect our team members to do more with less,” Eslinger said. “We have to find a way to really help them work smarter, not harder, … and remove the unnecessary, noisy tasks that are just frustrating them and cause people to not stay in health care at a time when we need them more than ever.”
Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@usatodayco.com or on X @pwilliamsOH. Sign up for the Beacon Journal’s business and consumer newsletter, “What’s The Deal?“
