Health policy analyst and former chief executive of the Health Research Board, Dr Ruth Barrington, has been appointed to the board of VHI healthcare by Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly.
Dr Barrington, who is the chairwoman of The Irish Times Trust and a member of the board of The Irish Times Ltd, will serve on the VHI board for a period of three years until March 2015.
She is currently the chief executive of Molecular Medicine Ireland, a charitable company established by several Irish universities to translate of scientific advances into new therapies and devices.
Dr Barrington served at the chief executive of the Health Research Board from 1998 to 2007.
She is a graduate of UCD, the College of Europe in Belgium and the London School of Economics.
She is the author of Health, Medicine and Politics in Ireland 1900-1970 and holds an honorary degree in law from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
Dr Barrington was appointed as chair of The Irish Times Trust in 2010, succeeding Prof David McConnell on his retirement from the position.
Welcoming the appointment, VHI chairman Bernard Collins said: “Dr Barrington has an exceptional track record in healthcare in Ireland and will bring highly relevant and wide ranging experience to the Board of Vhi Healthcare.”