Jackson Health Mourns Loss Of Chief Strategy Officer

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – One of the nation's leading experts in healthcare and accounting who came out of retirement last year to become Jackson Health Systems' new chief strategy officer passed away in Sarasota on Saturday.

Donn Szaro was 61.

"Donn was more than a partner; he was friend," said Carlos A. Migoya, president & CEO of Jackson Health System. "At a time when Jackson – and me personally – needed a champion, Donn put his retirement aside to join in our important work."

Migoya said Szaro joined Jackson's transformation team because he believed in the health system's mission and recognized its potential for long-term success.

Prior to joining Jackson, Szaro was with Ernst & Young LLP for 35 years.  He founded the company's Global Health Science Industry Practice. He twice led practices into billion-dollar annual revenues, first with domestic health care and later with the global health science practice.

He also worked as an independent hospital consultant and was often recruited to speak as an expert on hospital business strategy throughout the United States and in Europe, China, India, Singapore and Australia.

Migoya said Szaro was dedicated to reinventing modern healthcare. In doing so, he worked with more than 500 hospitals across the country providing strategy, financial advice and operational assistance.

A third-generation Floridian, Donn is a former Florida State University Seminole football player who graduated with an undergraduate degree in accounting. He completed advanced executive studies at Yale, Northwestern, Duke and Harvard universities.

"Jackson Health System sends our deepest condolences to the Szaro family and we recommit ourselves to honoring Donn's legacy in the work we do each and every day," Migoya said.

Memorial services are pending.