Health group CEO and husband die in plane crash
By Brianna Owczarzak and Anna Muckenfuss
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MIDLAND, Michigan (WNEM) — The president and CEO of MyMichigan Health, Diane Postler-Slattery, and her husband, Donald Slattery, were killed in a Florida plane crash Tuesday evening.
It happened about 7 p.m. on March 8. The Cessna plane the couple was traveling in disappeared from radar about two miles from the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, where it was scheduled to land, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
The plane was flying from Michigan and stopped at McMinnville, Tennessee before taking off for the Florida airport. It was located overnight one mile north of the northbound runway in a densely wooded area, the sheriff’s office said.
The couple was found deceased. Donald Slattery was the owner of the plane, the sheriff’s office said.
“This is a great tragedy for our health system,” said Greg Rogers, executive vice president and chief operating officer of MyMichigan Health. “Diane was a strong, passionate and inspirational leader and was beloved by her family, friends and colleagues. We ask that you keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers, and that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
Postler-Slattery became president and CEO of MyMichigan Health in 2013.
“She was a visionary and under her leadership we greatly expanded our health system, including affiliations with our Medical Centers in Alpena, West Branch and most recently Sault St. Marie,” Rogers said. “As a nurse herself, she was committed to patient care and the highest level of safety and patient satisfaction. In fact, the comfort for patients and their families was of utmost importance to her ensuring any new facility had a warm, homelike setting including her favorite feature – a cozy fireplace.”
The bodies are being turned over to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
Several different agencies worked together and were able to locate the crashed plane with the help of drones, the sheriff’s office said. The sheriff’s office’s Criminal Investigations and Crime Scene Unit were on the scene most of the night conducting a forensic examination of the scene.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are taking over the investigation.
The couple is survived by their three children and five grandchildren.
Rogers is the acting CEO for the health system until further notice.
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