On August 4, 2026, Dr. Sunil “Sunny” Eappen was named the first Chief Medical Officer of Assort Health. In this role, he leverages his extensive clinical leadership to guide the development of AI agents designed to navigate complex patient needs and care pathways.
Immediately prior to his role at Assort, Dr. Eappen served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of University of Vermont Health where he ran an integrated rural health network that included an academic medical center, a children’s hospital, five community hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group, a home health and hospice agency and several skilled nursing facilities. The system served more than 1 million residents of northern New York and Vermont, employed 15,000 people with an annual operating revenue of over $3 billion.
Dr. Eappen’s appointment came at a critical time for the health system where he was charged with curtailing nationwide challenges of cost inflation and the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Eappen’s expertise and leadership will played a pivotal role in the Network’s financial recovery and in guiding the transformative work to increase patient access to care, address workforce shortages and more deeply integrate the organization’s operational and governance structure to become more nimble, equitable and aligned with its population health centered mission
Dr. Eappen served previously as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Mass General Brigham (MGB) in Boston, where he led key initiatives in physician recruitment and retention, medical affairs, patient care and diversity, equity, and inclusion. He also served previously as interim CEO of BWH for 10 months in the heart of the global pandemic.
Dr. Eappen joined BWH in 2018 from Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he served as the Chief of Anesthesiology, the medical director of the operating rooms and the Chief Medical Officer during his tenure. In these roles at Mass Eye and Ear, he managed the Medical Staff Office and the pharmacy, in addition to leading the Quality and Patient Experience Programs.
Dr. Eappen earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his MD from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, and an MBA from the Yale University School of Management. He completed his residency in anesthesiology at Brigham & Women’s Hospital where he also served as Chief Resident.
Dr. Eappen is the author of numerous published articles and a national speaker on topics including optimizing OR efficiency, surgical checklist implementation, quality and safety initiatives, and change management. He was Associate Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Clinical Professor at the Larner School of Medicine at the University of Vermont.
