WINSTON-SALEM & CHARLOTTE - Novant Health, the not-for-profit health system based in North Carolina, has named five new trustees to it Board of Directors.

The five individuals represent a diverse background: Yele Aluko, M.D., a specialist in cardiovascular medicine with Charlotte-based Mid Carolina Cardiology; Debra Conrad, a four-term Forsyth County Commissioner and President of Conrad Marketing Specialists LLC; Barbara Desoer, Global Technology & Operations Executive for Bank of America; Peggy Valentine, Ed.D., Dean of the School of Health Sciences at Winston-Salem State University; and John Woodlief, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Ruddick Corporation, a holding company in Charlotte which is engaged in two primary businesses, Harris Teeter, Inc. and American & Efird, Inc.

Novant Health consists of a 690-physician medical group and eight hospitals in North Carolina's Charlotte, Triad and southeastern regions: Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville and Presbyterian Hospital Matthews of the Charlotte area; Forsyth Medical Center, Medical Park Hospital and Thomasville Medical Center in the Triad region; and Brunswick Community Hospital along the coast. Other facilities and programs of Novant Health include two nursing homes, outpatient surgery and diagnostic centers, rehabilitation programs and community health outreach programs.

Novant Health is ranked 1st in North Carolina and 7th nationally among the 2007 Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks, according to an analysis by the Verispan health informatics company. Novant's mission is "to improve the health of communities, one person at a time."