SEATTLE, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Rodney F. Hochman, M.D., has been selected as the new president and CEO of Swedish, according to Swedish's board chairman, Kirby McDonald. McDonald announced the news this afternoon to the organization's employees, medical staff and volunteers.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070124/SFW119 )
Hochman is currently executive vice president of Sentara Healthcare, a major medical system with seven acute-care hospitals, 1,722 beds and 17,000 employees based in Norfolk, Va. He has held this position since 2004, after beginning his tenure at Sentara as the organization's chief medical officer and senior vice president in 1998. In his current role, he is responsible for the operations of five hospitals, as well as Sentara's medical group, legal and corporate compliance divisions. Prior to Sentara, Hochman held numerous executive-level positions during five years with Cincinnati-based Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati. Before that, he spent nearly 10 years with Guthrie Healthcare System in Sayre, PA. His medical background is in Rheumatology and Internal Medicine, and he has served as a Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Dartmouth Medical School.
Hochman will succeed Richard H. Peterson, who announced his retirement in June 2006 after 12 years as Swedish's CEO. Hochman's selection follows an extensive national search conducted by Swedish that included numerous internal and external candidates.
"We are delighted to announce that Dr. Hochman has accepted our offer to become the next president and CEO of Swedish," McDonald said. "Throughout the entire search process, he has demonstrated a unique blend of leadership qualities that the search committee and board found extremely compelling. Included in this list of characteristics are: visionary thinking and the management skills to execute on that vision; a commitment to quality and patient safety; the ability to lead system-wide change initiatives and growth strategies; a comprehensive grasp of the financial workings of major health- care organizations and experience in a large, complex health-care system."
In addition to his work with Sentara, Dr. Hochman is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology and a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is the recipient of the 2001 Physician Executive Award of Excellence, sponsored by Modern Physician magazine, and under his leadership, 569-bed Sentara Norfolk General Hospital won the American Hospital's prestigious Quest for Quality national award in 2002.
"Throughout his 30-year career, Rod has steadfastly worked to achieve excellence in everything he has done," McDonald added. "Starting first as a physician and then as a professor, dean and administrator. In short, the search committee believed -- and the Swedish board concurred -- that Rod is the right individual at the right time for the job."
Hochman received his M.D. from Boston University School of Medicine and B.A. from Boston University. He is married to his wife of 28 years, Nancy, and has two daughters Alyssa, 24, and Lindsey, 22.
"Dr. Hochman joins Swedish at a time of great strength and opportunity, thanks in large part to the legacy created by our retiring CEO, Richard Peterson and his executive team," McDonald said. "Today, we are a strong organization with an impeccable reputation for quality, innovation and community involvement."
"I am very pleased with the board's decision to name Dr. Hochman as Swedish's next CEO," said Peterson, "I am confident that he will build on the legacy that I, my senior team and all of the physicians and employees of Swedish have worked so hard to create. I look forward to working closely with Rod as he transitions into his new role."
Said Hochman, "I am thrilled to be joining Swedish. It is an organization with a regional and increasingly national reputation for patient care with a bright future ahead. I look forward to working with physicians, staff and leadership to take this renowned organization to the next level."
According to McDonald, Hochman will be tasked with leading Swedish on multiple fronts which the organization considers to be high priorities in the coming years. Among these long-term priorities are:
-- Implementing a state-of-the-art clinical information system -- Spearheading the organization's long-term strategic planning process Solidifying Swedish's leadership role in clinical and service quality -- Continuing to develop and enhance key service lines such as neurosciences; heart and vascular; cancer; orthopedics; surgery; women and infants; and pediatrics -- Helping strengthen Swedish's culture of philanthropy and lead a major fund-raising campaign.
Peterson will stay on as CEO of Swedish until Hochman arrives at Swedish on April 2.
Swedish is the largest, most comprehensive, nonprofit health provider in the Pacific Northwest. It is comprised of three hospital campuses -- First Hill, Cherry Hill (formerly Providence) and Ballard -- a new freestanding emergency room and specialty center in Issaquah, Swedish Home Care Services and Swedish Physicians -- a network of 12 primary-care clinics. In addition to general medical and surgical care, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiac care, oncology, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, neurological care, sleep medicine, pediatrics, organ transplantation and clinical research. For more information, visit http://www.swedish.org .
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070124/SFW119AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.orgPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comSwedish Medical CenterCONTACT: Melissa Tizon, +1-206-215-6069, or pager, +1-206-405-6481, forSwedish Medical Center
Web site: http://www.swedish.org/
