Christopher Rinn
President & CEO
Christopher Rinn serves as VNA Health Group’s President and CEO, overseeing the multi-state home health, hospice and community-based services non-profit organization with over 1,200 employees. Prior his role with VNAHG, Christopher served as the Chief Executive Officer of VNACJ Community Health Center (CHC), overseeing 160 professional and support staff, while administering a $12 million annual budget. Mr. Rinn also served as VNAHG’s Chief Government Relations and Community Health Officer in which he had direct oversight of government affairs activities.
Under Christopher’s leadership at the CHCs he completed a significant operational and financial turnaround that resulted in a greater than 6% increase in operating margin, launched a brand-new community health center in the heart of Red Bank, secured a $500,000 federal grant for a program designed to train and support primary care doctors throughout Monmouth County, meeting a growing need throughout the region; and partnered with the Freehold Borough School District to extend mental health services to 1,700 students, regardless of their ability to pay.
In November 2017, Mr. Rinn was appointed by Governor Christie as the Acting Health Commissioner for New Jersey and led an organization of 6,200 employees and was responsible for a budget of $2.8B. As Commissioner, Mr. Rinn completed the successful integration of the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services from the Department of Human Services: one of the largest governmental reorganizations in decades. Mr. Rinn also approved the expansion of inpatient mental health and substance abuse beds, adding 811 beds statewide.
As NJDOH’s Assistant Commissioner, Mr. Rinn was responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership to the State’s public health agencies, laboratory services, and emergency preparedness and response activities. Prior to joining the NJDOH, Mr. Rinn served as Executive Director of EMS and Governmental Affairs for Jersey City Medical Center. There, he led the EMS Department’s turnaround, improving the clinical, fiscal, and operation components of the service line. Mr. Rinn’s leadership resulted in the EMS Department achieving the first “triple accreditation” of an EMS service in the country. Mr. Rinn served on the NJ Hospital Association Policy Committee and successfully lobbied for increased charity care funding. An expert in strategic planning, he also led the first strategic planning initiative in the EMS Department.
Mr. Rinn is actively involved with various associations such as the American College of Healthcare Executives; is a Board Member and Chair of the Governance Committee for the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County. Mr. Rinn previously served as co-chair of the Holy Cross Church Capital Campaign Committee; Vice President and member of the New Jersey Association of Paramedic Programs. Additionally, he is a former councilman for the Borough of Fair Haven. He has also been widely recognized for his professional excellence and community service, including NJBIZ 2010 Forty Under 40 and received the NJ Commissioner of Health Award of Excellence in 2015.
A graduate of Columbia University with a BS in Biological Science, Mr. Rinn has thirty years of experience in public health and emergency services. In addition to completing the Harvard Kennedy School’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, he received his MHA from Seton Hall University.