Southcoast Health CEO David McCready steps down as board names Stephen Canessa interim leader

NEW BEDFORD David McCready stepped down Friday as president and chief executive officer of Southcoast Health, the system that runs St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and Tobey Hospital in Wareham, NBC 10 News reported. The board of trustees named Stephen Canessa, a Southcoast executive since 2011, to lead the system as interim president and chief executive officer, and his profile on Southcoast's website now gives him that title.

McCready's departure took effect immediately, according to a message the board sent to employees, and the message did not give a reason for his departure, the station reported.

"Supporting Southcoast Health's important mission has been an honor," McCready said in the board's message, as quoted by NBC 10 News. "I thank the Board for the opportunity to have led the organization and am proud of the work we have achieved together."

Board Chair Carmen Sylvester thanked McCready for his leadership, service and contributions, NBC 10 News reported. She said Canessa will oversee the system's operations and work with the board, the leadership team, providers and staff to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of patient care, according to the station.

Who is leading Southcoast now

Canessa joined Southcoast in 2011 as the system's first executive director of government affairs, and he later became vice president of marketing and government affairs. In 2017 he was promoted to senior vice president and chief brand and strategy officer, a senior leadership team post whose portfolio included strategic planning, government and community affairs, marketing and communications, patient experience, real estate, and design and construction. NBC 10 News described his most recent post as senior vice president of external affairs.

Before joining the health system, Canessa was an elected state representative for Freetown, Lakeville, Middleboro, New Bedford and Taunton. He led Southcoast's first study of its economic impact, done with the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass Dartmouth, which found the system was one of the region's largest employers. He holds a management degree from Bridgewater State University and an MBA from Suffolk University, and he serves on the boards of the New Bedford Economic Development Council and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

McCready's time at Southcoast

The Southcoast Health board announced McCready's hiring in July 2023. He came from Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, where he had been president. The board said he would join Southcoast on Oct. 1, 2023, as president and chief executive officer of Southcoast Hospitals Group, then succeed Dr. Rayford Kruger at the head of the full system. In a message Southcoast posted Jan. 3, 2024, McCready wrote that he was officially beginning that role, and he led the full system for a little less than three years.

About Southcoast Health

Southcoast, which calls itself the region's largest employer, is a not-for-profit system with more than 55 locations across southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, among them its three hospitals, and its August 2025 fact sheet says it employs more than 8,500 people and that its service area includes more than 756,000 residents in 33 communities. St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford is a Level II trauma center, according to the fact sheet.

This story will be updated as Southcoast Health shares more.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.