CalvertHealth promoted Kasia Sweeney to senior vice president of strategy and transformation on Oct. 10, 2025. The move positions her to oversee strategic planning, the employed medical group, transformation projects and government relations as the organization navigates shifts in the healthcare sector.
Sweeney, who has worked at CalvertHealth for more than 25 years, brings extensive internal experience to the role. She previously served as vice president of strategy and business development, with earlier positions in public relations, physician relations and business development. Her promotion aims to bolster ties with legislators and policymakers, amplifying the system’s influence on health policy.
“As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, it is critical for health systems like ours to remain agile and engaged,” said Jeremy Bradford, president and chief executive officer of CalvertHealth. “Kasia’s new role underscores our commitment to advancing our strategic plan, transforming to meet new challenges and advocating for the needs of our patients and community. Her leadership will help ensure CalvertHealth remains strong and responsive to those we serve.”
In her expanded duties, Sweeney will drive execution of CalvertHealth’s five-year strategic plan, which spans fiscal years 2024 through 2028. The plan emphasizes quality improvement, safety enhancements and expansion of primary and specialty care services. It also includes a cultural overhaul to foster employee engagement and patient-centered operations. Recent progress under this framework earned the system an Outstanding Patient Experience distinction from Healthgrades in 2025, recognizing high performance in clinical outcomes and satisfaction metrics.
Sweeney’s educational credentials support her focus on policy and transformation. She holds a master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University and is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Currently, she is completing a Doctor of Public Health in health policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. These qualifications equip her to address advocacy at local, state, and federal levels, where issues like reimbursement rates and regulatory compliance directly affect rural providers such as CalvertHealth.
CalvertHealth’s reliance on seasoned leaders like Sweeney reflects broader pressures in Southern Maryland’s healthcare delivery. The system’s 2023-2025 Community Health Needs Assessment identified cancer, heart disease and stroke, mental health conditions, physical activity barriers, nutrition access, and obesity as top priorities in Calvert County. Data from the assessment, drawn from secondary sources like county health rankings and primary surveys of over 400 residents, highlighted disparities in preventive care and behavioral health services. For instance, 28 percent of respondents reported limited access to mental health providers, underscoring the need for strategic expansions in telehealth and community partnerships.
The promotion occurs amid workforce strains across Southern Maryland’s medical sector, where recruitment challenges have intensified post-pandemic. CalvertHealth, as the county’s primary acute care provider, employs more than 1,000 staff across its 80-bed hospital and outpatient sites. Its strategic initiatives include targeted hiring drives and training programs to retain talent, aligning with Sweeney’s oversight of the employed medical group, which encompasses over 100 physicians and advanced practitioners.
Founded in 1919 as a modest two-story community hospital in Prince Frederick, CalvertHealth has expanded into a nonprofit, community-owned network serving Calvert County and adjacent areas. Early operations focused on basic inpatient care for a rural population, with growth spurred by state investments and community fundraising. By the 1970s, it added emergency and surgical services; today, it offers comprehensive cardiology, oncology, orthopedics and women’s health programs. The system’s evolution mirrors Calvert County’s transition from tobacco farming to a bedroom community for Washington, D.C. commuters, with healthcare now ranking as the second-largest employment sector after government.
This internal advancement signals CalvertHealth’s emphasis on continuity amid external demands. Federal policies, such as Medicare Advantage plan terminations affecting thousands of Maryland seniors through December 2025, heighten the urgency for robust government relations. Sweeney’s role will involve coordinating with state lawmakers on funding for rural hospitals, where operating margins have tightened due to rising supply costs and staffing shortages.
In Calvert County, where preventive services often require travel to Annapolis or larger facilities, CalvertHealth’s transformation efforts prioritize local solutions. Recent additions include expanded oncology supportive care resources, piloted with input from nursing leaders to address survivor needs beyond treatment. The strategic plan also commits to infrastructure upgrades, such as electronic health record resiliency through cloud-based systems, reducing downtime during outages.
Bradford’s comments highlight the system’s mission: to improve health and well-being through trusted, exceptional care. With Sweeney’s institutional knowledge, CalvertHealth positions itself to adapt to these dynamics, ensuring sustained access for the roughly 115,000 residents who depend on its services. As Southern Maryland’s healthcare anchor, the organization continues to integrate community feedback into its planning, fostering resilience in an environment marked by demographic shifts and policy flux.
