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Beth Tharp will become CEO of Community Hospital Anderson later this year, replacing Dr. Bill VanNess, who is retiring after leading the hospital for 15 years. Tharp serves as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Community Anderson. She holds nursing degrees from Anderson College and Indiana Wesleyan University, as well as an MBA degree from Anderson University.

Franciscan St. Francis Health named Becky Merkel its administrative director of compliance and privacy to oversee the hospital’s computer incident reporting systems and upgrades and ensure compliance with all laws, regulations and hospital policies. Merkel most recently held a similar position at Bluffton Regional Medical Center near Fort Wayne. She holds a bachelor’s degree in health information management from the Indiana University School of Informatics. Merkel succeeds Douglas Gioe, who recently retired from Franciscan St. Francis.

Corey Baute has been appointed chief human resources executive for Franciscan St. Francis Health, succeeding Karen Sagar. Baute most recently was chief of human resources for the Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center and before that led recruiting and staffing at Indiana University Health. Baute, an Army veteran, holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a master’s in management from Oakland City University.