Amid the ongoing search for a new Yale Health CEO, Vice Provost for Health Affairs and Academic Integrity Stephanie Spangler announced on Jan. 13 that Nanci Fortgang, who previously served as chief medical officer at Yale Health, will serve as interim director.
Sarah Cook
Staff Correspondent

Jessie Cheung, Professional Artist
Yale Health’s chief medical officer, Nanci Fortgang, has been appointed to serve as the agency’s chief executive, according to a Jan. 13 to the Yale Community from Vice Provost for Health Affairs and Academic Integrity Stephanie Spangler.
The announcement came just over a week after former Yale Health CEO Paul Genecin stepped down. He announced his retirement in August, which was he soon followed and Christine Chen stepping down as Chief of Student Health in September.
Fortgang’s promotion also came just days before the Office of Campus Health was established at Yale Health with the goal of “creating and maintaining an infrastructure that protects the university’s core mission and supports the health and productivity of its community in the face of current and emerging health threats.” ,” according to Spangler’s email Thursday morning. The new office will be headed by Chief Quality Officer Madeline Wilson, who will now assume the additional role of director of health at the school.
Genecin said he was “pleased” with Fortgang’s appointment and added that he would “stabilize” the organization during the transition.
“Once Yale identifies my successor as CEO, that person will arrive at a thriving organization,” Genecin wrote to the News. “She will benefit from her deep knowledge of Yale Health and Yale University. I am pleased that Nanci was prepared to take on this important challenge.”
In his Jan. 13 email announcing the appointment, Spangler wrote that Fortgang came to Yale Health nearly 30 years ago and “quickly demonstrated his ability to excel and his commitment to patient care,” a promotion that led to his appointment as chief medical officer. officer in 2015.
Spangler added that Fortgang has a “collaborative and caring approach to leadership,” which will ensure Yale Health “does well and thrives” during the transition.
“I am deeply committed to taking care of our members and ensuring that the important work of Yale Health continues,” Fortgang wrote to the News.
Fortgang holds a Bachelor’s of Nursing from Boston University and a Master’s of Public
Administration from New York University. He serves as a board member of the Connecticut Medical Group Management Association and the Telehealth Special Interest Group. Additionally, she is a member of the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing and a certified medical director for the Medical Group Management Association.
Among Fortgang’s accomplishments, Spangler looked at how he developed medical policies, rethinking Yale’s flu vaccine program, his work on Lanman Field Hospital surgery and his leadership in Yale’s COVID-19 vaccine program.
Genecin added that during the pandemic, Fortgang helped establish the Campus COVID Resource Line, helped staff and patients adapt to changes in disease control regulations in healthcare settings and played an “important role” in the transition to telemedicine.
“Nanci Fortgang has been one of the most respected leaders,” Genecin wrote in an email to the News. “He oversees the operations of all of our medical programs. He has a detailed understanding of what it takes to keep the program humming along. He has earned the respect of our entire staff for his excellence. [judgment] and commitment to doing the right thing.”
Spangler wrote that an active search is underway for a Yale Health CEO to replace Genecin, progressing “very well.”
Yale Health is located at 55 Lock Street.