Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals Names Patricia (Tish) McMullin of Boston as new Executive Director

Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals Names Patricia (Tish) McMullin of Boston as new Executive Director

August 8, 2019

Media Contact: Erin Duggan | Massachusetts Eye and Ear

Boston, Massachusetts – The Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, Inc. (COBTH) has named Patricia (Tish) McMullin, Esq, as the organization’s next Executive Director, effective in September. McMullin succeeds John Erwin, who, after serving 13 years in the role, left last December to become Vice Chancellor for Government Affairs at UMass Medical Center.

COBTH is a coalition of 12 Boston-area teaching hospitals that collaborate on issues fundamental to their missions of patient care, teaching, biomedical research and community health.

McMullin brings to the position an impressive history of leadership in healthcare government relations and advocacy. She currently serves as Special Counsel and Director of Government Affairs for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In this role, McMullin has led the growing BIDMC system’s external relations with local, state and federal governments, and provided strategic guidance and legal counsel for a large, Harvard-affiliated academic medical center and its affiliated community hospitals.

“Tish’s vast experience as a strategist and advocate for hospitals and healthcare initiatives on the local, state and federal levels makes her perfectly suited to lead our conference at this transformative time for healthcare, research and teaching,” said John Fernandez, COBTH chair and president of Massachusetts Eye and Ear. “Building communities based on trust and collaboration has been a hallmark of her career.”

“I am excited to take on this role and look forward to supporting the full mission of the COBTH member hospitals: providing high quality patient care to all residents; training the next generation of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals; maintaining a deep commitment to research and discovery; and serving our surrounding neighborhoods and communities,” said McMullin. “These organizations continue to have a profound impact on the health and lives of individuals and families here in Boston and around the world.”

Before joining BIDMC in July 2007, McMullin led Government Affairs offices for the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, and began her career in health care as a Government Relations Associate at Partners Healthcare. McMullin has also served as Assistant General Counsel in the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston with a Chancellor’s Scholarship for Excellence and earned her law degree from New England Law, Magna Cum Laude.

About COBTH

The Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, Inc.(COBTH) exists to maximize the Boston-area teaching hospitals’ visibility on the issues that are fundamental to their missions of teaching, research and clinical care. COBTH educates opinion leaders at all levels about the contributions of its members to the area’s health and economy. In coalition with business organizations, COBTH advocates for policies favorable to academic medicine and the economy of the Commonwealth. COBTH is committed to addressing the public health needs of the City of Boston through cooperative efforts with other providers and agencies.