NewYork-Presbyterian, a major hospital system in the New York metropolitan area, announced Thursday that an experienced health care attorney would become its next group senior vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel.

Mary Beth Claus will lead the NewYork-Presbyterian legal team beginning in March 2019. In her role she will be responsible for developing the legal and corporate strategies for the hospital.

“I am excited to join NewYork-Presbyterian, one of the nation's leading and most comprehensive academic health care delivery systems,” Claus said in the news release. “I admire NewYork-Presbyterian's mission of providing high-quality, compassionate care to every patient. NewYork-Presbyterian's excellence in clinical care, research and education, in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, is unparalleled, and I'm thrilled to become a part of this dynamic team and help prepare the institution for the future.”

Claus replaces Maxine Frank, who was executive vice president, CLO and general counsel and is assuming a new role as senior adviser to the hospital.

“Mary Beth is a skilled lawyer and experienced leader who shares our commitment to providing the highest quality, most compassionate care to every patient. We look forward to her joining our leadership team and strengthening NewYork-Presbyterian's position as a national leader in patient care, research and education. We are deeply grateful to Maxine for her extraordinary service to NewYork-Presbyterian over the last 19 years, and for her continued guidance and thoughtful leadership,” said Dr. Steven Corwin, the president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian, in a statement.

Claus comes to NewYork-Presbyterian from Indiana University Health where she serves as the senior vice president and general counsel. She also was the deputy chief legal officer of the Cleveland Clinic. She earlier was a partner in the health and life sciences group at Baker & Daniels in Indianapolis. She graduated from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

NewYork-Presbyterian is an “integrated academic health care system” with four major divisions. They are NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Hospital Network, NewYork-Presbyterian Physician Services; and NewYork-Presbyterian Community and Population Health. It also is affiliated with two globally known medical schools, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons,