Three top leaders have been named at Aurora BayCare Medical Center. The announcements include:

• Daniel Meyer as chief administrative officer. Prior to joining Aurora as the administrator of Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center in 2005, Meyer was vice president of operations for Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, North Carolina.
• Barbara Vela as chief nursing executive. Vela brings more than 20 years of nursing care and health care management experience to Aurora BayCare, including her most recent role as chief nursing officer at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago.
• Doug Koch as director of clinical services. Koch has served as the director of diagnostic imaging at Aurora BayCare since 2001. In his new role, Koch will oversee all clinical services including pharmacy, rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging and outpatient services.

Meyer becomes Aurora BayCare's 2nd administrator succeeding Linda Smith, who joined Aurora BayCare as administrator while it was under construction in 2001.

Smith will continue to serve as executive vice president of Aurora Health Care's north region, which includes Aurora facilities and services in Brown, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Marinette, Oconto, Shawano, Door and Kewaunee counties. She has served in a dual role as administrator and executive vice president since Nov. 2003.

Aurora BayCare Medical Center is a 167-bed, full-service tertiary care hospital located on Green Bay's east side. It opened in September 2001 as a joint effort of Aurora Health Care and BayCare Clinic.

Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit Wisconsin health care provider and a nationally recognized leader in efforts to improve the quality of health care. Aurora has care sites in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin.

BayCare Clinic is the largest, most complete physician-owned, specialty-care clinic in northeast Wisconsin. It is comprised of 100 specialty physicians with expertise in more than 20 specialties. BayCare Clinic physicians have served patients in the region for more than 25 years.

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Contact: Krissy Behnke (920-496-6365)