Another New Face at St. Joseph Health: COO

Orange-based St. Joseph Health System, which runs three of the largest hospitals in the county, has hired a 40-year-old pediatrician and healthcare administrator as its new chief operating officer.

Andrew Agwunobi, who goes by "Dr. Andy," replaces Jeffery FIocken, who left St. Joseph in June.

He's set to start at St. Joseph on Jan. 2.

Agwunobi's arrival is the second big change within St. Joseph's executive ranks in the past year.

Chief Executive Deborah Proctor took over late last year for longtime leader Richard Statute, who now is chief executive of Bon secours Health System Inc. in Marriottsville, Md.

In a release, Proctor said Agwunobi has "the operational expertise to serve as a strategic partner for our local hospital CEOs."

Proctor was an attraction for Agwunobi, he said: "She's a person who has both the personality and the smarts, basically, the competence that separates the good leaders from the great leaders."