Gary A. Shaw Bio

Gary brings more than two decades of experience leading hospitals and healthcare organizations from Massachusetts to Alaska, as well as 20 years of service in the U.S. Navy’s Medical Service Corps, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Gary previously served as the President and CEO of Nantucket Cottage Hospital, a Community Hospital within the Mass General Brigham Healthcare system (MGB). During his tenure he successfully led the hospital and Town of Nantucket through the Covid Pandemic, implemented Whole Person Care (Mind, Body, and Spirit) patient care principles, successfully instituted quality improvements that measurably established the Hospital as a leader in quality innovation and change, and subsequently elevated the hospital to a top 100 Rural and Community Hospital in the United States (Designated by the Chartis Center for Rural Health). Prior to Nantucket, Gary led the Cambridge Medical Center, an 86-bed facility that is part of the Allina Health not-for-profit healthcare system. At Cambridge Medical Center, he was responsible for several system-wide improvement initiatives in quality and patient care and led the development of system wide Whole Person Care quality initiatives as well as the systems first (pilot) $9 million Whole Person Care outpatient clinic. Prior to that, Gary was the Administrator of the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) in Anchorage, Alaska, a 158- bed regional referral center and teaching hospital for the Alaska Native and American Indian populations. During his tenure, Gary worked with his campus partner, Southcentral Foundation (a two-time Malcomb Baldridge Quality Award Winner), to elevate quality and service delivery within ANMC.

Gary enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1977, progressing from Hospital Corpsman to Lieutenant Commander of the Navy’s Medical Service Corps over the span of two decades. He served during four wars and his last overseas assignment was as a Navy Environmental Health advisor (Public Health/Healthcare Administration) to the United Nations during the Bosnian war. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, Gary received a Bachelor of Science degree in Healthcare/Business Administration, followed by a Master of Science degree in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville. He holds an Executive Professional Coaching Certificate from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN, and is an annual guest lecturer for Harvard Medical Schools “C-Suite Executive Leadership Skillsets” master’s program, presenting “Healthcare Innovation and Change Management”.

A Life Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he and his wife Trisha reside near Nashville TN.