Jill J. VanKuren, MBA, FACHE

President and Chief Executive Officer

Ms. VanKuren was tapped to lead Saratoga Hospital because of her track record of success as a senior executive with the largest integrated health care system in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. She has 25 years of experience in hospital and health care operations and strategic planning and development. She also has a deep appreciation of both the vital role of a community hospital and the advantages of being part of a health system.

Before joining Saratoga Hospital, Ms. VanKuren was senior vice president of operations and chief operating officer at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, one of 10 MedStar Health system hospitals. She has first-hand knowledge of how to maximize the strengths of a health system to best serve local communities.

A graduate of East Carolina University in North Carolina, Ms. VanKuren has a Master of Business Administration, with a specialization in healthcare administration, from Loyola University Maryland. She is board certified in healthcare management by the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Ms. VanKuren is a member of the advisory board of Women in Healthcare. She also has served on the behavioral health advisory group of the Maryland Hospital Association and on the board of the National Alliance for Mental Illness Metropolitan Baltimore.

Toni Bishop-McWain, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CNRN, CCRN

Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer

Dr. Bishop-McWain has more than 25 years of nursing administration experience. Before joining Saratoga Hospital, she was vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, a large, integrated health system in Illinois. She also has held nursing leadership roles in critical care, cardiopulmonary services, and cardiovascular services. Earlier in her career, Dr. Bishop-McWain worked in the intensive care unit of Glens Falls Hospital.

She began her nursing education at Adirondack Community College, went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, and has a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing. She also holds Nurse Executive Advanced Certification (NEA-BC) from the American Nurse Credentialing Center, certification in critical-care nursing (CCRN) from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN) certification from the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses.

Dr. Bishop-McWain is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, American Nurses Association, American Organization of Nurse Leaders, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Scarlet Clement-Buffoline

Vice President, Operations

Clement-Buffoline has more than two decades of administrative experience in positions of increasing responsibility. Most recently, she was executive director of Saratoga Hospital Medical Group, overseeing all operational elements of the multispecialty practice, including increasing physician engagement, patient outcomes and financial stewardship. Additionally, she has partnered with team members in the Albany Med Health System to plan for the system-wide electronic medical record conversion to EPIC.

Prior to joining Saratoga, Scarlet served as the Chief Operating Officer for St. Peters, St Mary’s, Samaritan and Albany Memorial Hospitals in New York. She has also served as an operational Vice-president and Behavioral health service line leader. 

Clement-Buffoline holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and health from the State University of New York at Potsdam and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University at Albany. A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Clement-Buffoline is a member of the Association of Healthcare Management – Western New York, the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, and the Healthcare Association of New York State Behavioral Health Task Force. In addition, she has served on the boards of the Troy Redevelopment Foundation, Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce, and Rensselaer County Community Services. 

Richard Falivena, DO, MPH

Vice President, Chief Medical and Physician Integration Officer 

Dr. Falivena has extensive administrative and medical practice experience. His professional areas of interest are the development of effective physician performance feedback and aligning patient safety initiatives with physician incentives.

He joined us in 2013 from Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House, New Jersey, where he served as vice president of medical affairs and president of Cape Regional Physicians Associates. His medical career includes 15 years as a general surgeon on Long Island. For the last five of those years, Dr. Falivena served as chairman of the Department of Surgery at Massapequa General Hospital. He also has served as chief medical officer of Brunswick Medical Center in Amityville, New York.

Dr. Falivena has a bachelor's degree from Alfred University in New York, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Iowa, and a Master of Public Health in Healthcare Administration from the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University in New York. He is a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons.

Gary Foster, CPA

Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Foster has been with the organization since 1994. Prior to joining Saratoga Hospital, he held positions at  Columbia Greene Medical Center in Hudson, New York, and KPMG in Albany, New York.

Mr. Foster has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the State University of New York at Albany. He is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Foster has also been a board member of Living Resources Corporation since July 2012. 

John Mangona, MBA

Vice President, Chief Information and Compliance Officer

Mr. Mangona has been with Saratoga Hospital since 1995. Mr. Mangona earned a Master of Business Administration in information systems from Union Graduate College in Schenectady, New York. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in aviation management from from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

He is certified in healthcare compliance and involved in Leadership Saratoga, the Medical Users Software Exchange, Health Information Exchange of New York, and Health Care Compliance Association. Mr. Mangona also served nine years as a board member of the Saratoga Regional YMCA. He is a member of the Saratoga Springs Smart-City Commission. In 2017, Mr. Mangona was recognized as one of the top 100 Community Hospital CIOs to know by Becker's Healthcare.