Health system hires vice president

SARASOTA — Stratum Health System named health care executive Wendy Kraszewski vice president of Palliative Care Services of Connexis Medical Services.

Connexis is a Stratum affiliate company that provides in-home medical visits, physician services and palliative care. Stratum Health System was created to oversee and support the missions of Tidewell Hospice, Approved Home Health, Avidity Home Health, Connexis Medical Services, SCATA Real Estate LLC and Treasures Thrift Shop.

Kraszewski comes to Stratum/Connexis with 19 years of leadership experience in the hospice and palliative care fields, according to a press release. She spent the past 12 years at VITAS Healthcare Corp., including six years as national general manager, providing operational leadership and oversight for all VITAS palliative care practices across the company. She also held regional administrator and administrator positions at VITAS.

“Stratum is thrilled to add Wendy to our leadership team,” says Stratum Chief Medical Officer Dr. Neville Sarkari in a statement. "She is an accomplished leader with years of experience managing and developing palliative care businesses. Connexis has tremendous potential for growth, and we’ll look to Wendy for strategic guidance in the palliative care sector of our organization.”

Kraszewski began her career as a field supervisor and psychosocial counselor at Hospice Care of SE Florida and held the same positions at Broward General Medical Center, both in Fort Lauderdale.