Leadership Team

Mr. Lane comes to VHC Health from Buffalo, New York, where he was president of the region’s largest and busiest hospital, Buffalo General Medical Center and Gates Vascular Institute. Buffalo General is a 492-bed tertiary medical center with award-winning stroke, neurosurgery, cardiac, bariatric, and orthopedics programs. Mr. Lane managed over 4,500 employees and net annual revenues of over $750 million.

Mr. Lane has been honored with many awards over the years including the prestigious Modern Health Care Up and Comer Award (given annually to only 12 Healthcare Executives nationwide), Buffalo Business First's "40 under 40," Buffalo Business First "Health Care 50" and the Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas Citizen of the Year 2006 award, among others. Mr. Lane also has a record of community engagement, sitting on various executive boards for local healthcare organizations. 

Mr. Lane earned his degree in political science from Colgate University and a master’s in health services administration at D’Youville College, Buffalo. He also completed the Managing Health Care Delivery Executive Program at Harvard Business School.

Ms. Blackman is a licensed attorney with more than 11 years of experience in healthcare and medical malpractice defense work on behalf of hospitals and physicians. Her background includes compliance, contract review, governance and reporting, audit/risk assessments, federal regulations, and enterprise risk.

Prior to joining VHC Health, she was Director of Compliance Operations at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. Under her leadership, she developed and maintained compliance operations, wrote regulatory interpretations and opinions to ensure compliance with multi-state laws and mandates, supervised internal and external assessments, and partnered with hospital leadership on joint initiatives and educational opportunities.

Ms. Blackman also served as Associate Compliance Officer at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where she developed and oversaw a compliance program for the 557-bed hospital. Before that, she spent several years in private practice at Florida-based law firms.

Ms. Blackman holds a BA in Sociology & Psychology and an MA in Sociology from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. She earned her JD from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the Health Care Compliance Association.

Ms. Brickhouse Martin brings exceptional experience in organizational and operational evaluation and improvement, as well as education and teambuilding experience as a project management professional. She is the founder and president of BRICKHOUSE-MARTIN Healthcare Engineering (B-MHE), a professional services firm whose mission is to work with industry clients to sustain operational improvements and manage change using proven engineering analyses. Her healthcare clients have included hospitals and health systems, physician associations, information systems and supply vendors, managed care organizations, and government healthcare organizations. Prior to starting B·MHE in 1991, she served in senior positions in the manufacturing and healthcare consulting practices of Ernst & Whinney, Coopers & Lybrand, and Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc.

Ms. Martin earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research and an M.S. in Engineering Administration, both from Virginia Tech. She is a qualified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instructor and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). She serves on the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and the Advisory Board of the Ron Brown Scholars Program in Charlottesville, VA. She also serves on the HSC Foundation Board of Directors and the HSCSN Board of Directors, affiliated boards of Children’s National in Washington, DC. She recently served on the Board of Directors for VHC Health.

A registered nurse with more than 20 years of experience, Ms. Dickerson has risen through roles of increasing responsibility in the areas of operational leadership, strategic planning, and process improvement.

Most recently, she was Vice President and CNO at Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital, part of the Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, TX. In this role, she oversaw all nursing operations for inpatient and outpatient services and led the 264-bed, acute care facility’s successful journey to ANCC Magnet® recognition in 2017. During her tenure, she also served as Clinical Effectiveness Director for four of Memorial Hermann’s hospitals, directing operational activities around quality, patient safety, and infection control programs.

Her background includes Project Leader at The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare in Oakbrook, IL, where she analyzed complex healthcare safety and quality issues and developed targeted solutions to solve them. She also served as a Six Sigma Black Belt at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, NC, where she facilitated projects using Lean Six Sigma methodology to improve patient safety and outcomes.

Ms. Dickerson earned an MSN from Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC, and a BSN from Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, NC. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Organization of Nurse Executives.

With more than 15 years of experience leading, growing, and managing physician group practices, Mr. Ernst brings expansive knowledge and expertise to VHC Health. Prior to joining VHC Health, Mr. Ernst served seven years as President of General Physician, PC, located in Buffalo, NY, a multi-specialty physician group with over 330 physicians in more than 60 locations. In this role, he focused on strategic leadership, long-range planning, and execution, leading growth through acquisition and physician recruitment, driving operational excellence and transformation.

Before that, Mr. Ernst was the Chief Operating Officer for The Dent Neurologic Institute, responsible for practice operations, neuro-diagnostics, and corporate performance. He has a strong background in business and strategic planning, financial relationship management, and operations analysis and integration. Mr. Ernst holds a BS in Occupational Therapy from the University of Buffalo and a Master’s degree in Health Administration from D’Youville College.

Prior to taking on the role of Vice President in 2023, Mr. Gilkeson served as the Human Resources Director at VHC Health, where he oversaw the HR and Benefits teams. He also served as a Compliance Specialist, advising stakeholders regarding compliance with Federal and State laws and regulations, auditing existing practices, and conducting compliance training to staff across the health system.

Before joining VHC Health, Mr. Gilkeson worked for Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, an international law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with more than 950 attorneys. The firm includes industry-focused teams, including Healthcare and Privacy & Security. As a member of the firm’s Healthcare practice, Mr. Gilkeson focused on mergers and acquisitions and regulatory compliance across the healthcare industry. He also assisted clients with the formation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP).

Mr. Gilkeson holds a BA in Political Science from West Virginia University. He received his JD from Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2017. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Society for Human Resource Management.

With over 30 years of experience transforming healthcare through philanthropy, Hauser’s most recent roles include serving as Chief Philanthropy Officer at Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, and Associate Vice President at Children’s National. She previously held key positions at the Virginia Hospital Center Foundation (now the VHC Health Foundation), including Director of Principal Giving and Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving.

Hauser’s notable previous achievements at VHC Health include designing and implementing the Foundation's annual giving and major capital campaign of $50 million. At Conquer Cancer, she led a feasibility study and readiness assessment for an endowment campaign to double previous fundraising revenue and expand donor audiences over five years. At Children’s National, Hauser collaborated closely with hospital leadership to devise a strategic fundraising plan and implement a successful $500 million comprehensive campaign.

Hauser holds a Master of Arts from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where she graduated magna cum laude. She has lived in Arlington for over 22 years and has two children who were born at VHC Health.  She served as a Board Member for Doorways for Women in Arlington, VA, from 2015 to 2021, and as a Board Member for the Association for Fundraising Professionals DC Chapter in 2018.

Mr. Krumenacker joined VHC Health as a Construction Project Manager in 2016. Because of his expertise and expanded responsibilities, he was named Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning and Construction in 2020 and Vice President in 2021. Mr. Krumenacker is leading VHC Health through a $300 million campus expansion, including construction on a 260,000 square foot outpatient pavilion, a 1,750-spot parking structure, and 88 new inpatient beds.

Before joining VHC Health, Mr. Krumenacker held various positions in the Arlington County Government, where he oversaw an annual capital improvements construction program exceeding $55 million. Mr. Krumenacker holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and is a Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Mr. Peterson oversees the management and execution of information technology (IT) strategies, aligning them with VHC Health’s mission. His responsibilities include leading the deployment and optimization of clinical and financial systems, strengthening IT governance, and ensuring robust cybersecurity. Additionally, he champions process improvements, budget management, and collaborative initiatives to foster innovation. 

With more than 30 years of strategic IT leadership in healthcare and extensive experience in realigning IT infrastructures and delivering large-scale digital transformation, Mr. Peterson has driven substantial operational efficiencies, improved EMR implementations, and boosted patient and clinician satisfaction. His expertise in team building and collaboration has consistently enhanced organizational performance and growth.

At VHC Health, Mr. Peterson’s leadership will accelerate the integration of cutting-edge technology that supports both patient experience and operational excellence.  

Prior to joining VHC Health, Mr. Stanton had over 25 years of healthcare experience in the Metro Washington region. He has served in several roles, developing expertise in hospital marketing, communications, planning, strategic development, managed care, and real estate.

Mr. Stanton holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from James Madison University. He is a member of the VHHA’s COPN Taskforce and Legislative & Regulatory Affairs Taskforce. He also serves on the Healthcare Council & Shared Services Board of Directors, and is a past Executive Board of Director for the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on several community, non-profit Boards and is a life-long member of Leadership Center for Excellence (Leadership Arlington).

Previously, Dr. Stone was the Division Chief of Regional Hospital-Based Specialties at Children’s National Hospital, where he built and managed a network of affiliated, integrated neonatology and pediatric programs. He also served on the board of the Pediatric Health Network, a clinically integrated network developed to advance pediatric population health. For nearly a decade, Dr. Stone served as the Medical Director of the Marjorie Sands Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Hospitalist team at VHC Health, where he transformed the unit by doubling its capacity, increasing the types of services provided, and consistently achieving superior quality and patient outcomes.

Dr. Stone received his undergraduate degree from Union College and his medical degree from Albany Medical College. He is a graduate of The George Washington University School of Business with a Master of Business Administration and is the recipient of multiple academic honors. Dr. Stone completed his pediatric residency in Pediatrics and fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is board-certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine.

Mr. Zabrowski is a seasoned healthcare executive with over a decade of experience in healthcare, delivering value through innovative physician alignment, joint venture development, payor relations, and acquisition strategies. Prior to VHC Health, he was the regional CFO for St. Vincent Indiana’s Southwest Region, a 508-bed, dual-campus, integrated healthcare and trauma care institution in Evansville, IN. His background also includes roles as System Controller & Director of Finance at Deaconess Health System, and other roles in corporate finance, consulting, and public accounting.

Mr. Zabrowski earned an MBA with distinction from DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in Chicago, a BS in accounting and finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, IN, and is a certified public accountant. He has previously served as an advisor to a telehealth technology company and on numerous boards of directors, including United Way of Southwestern Indiana, the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, and the Indiana Healthcare Financial Management Association.