Executive Director of the U-M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital To Retire

Patricia Warner leaves proud legacy that includes leading the drive to build new children's and women's complex

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Patricia A. Warner, M.P.H., executive director of the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital, announced her retirement from the U-M Health System today.

She will retire April 4, 2012, on her 67th birthday, after 35 years of service.

She will leave a proud legacy that includes the development of a family-centered care culture at the children's and women's hospitals and — more visible to the public — the construction and opening of a new $754 million women's and children's complex. The 1.1 million square foot complex opened in December, after 10 years of planning and five years of construction.

Warner called the activation of the new women's and children's hospital a "once in a lifetime opportunity."

"I am grateful to have had such wonderful colleagues over the last 35 years. The staff, faculty, students and volunteers I've had the privilege to work with have proven that there really is a Michigan Difference," Warner says. "It has been my profound privilege, and great pleasure to have lived such important moments here."

Warner says she will miss coming to work but has two very important items that need tending to.

"One is spending time with our sons and their families, our daughters in law and our grandchildren," she says. "The second is spending more time with my husband, Ken."

UMHS Director and CEO Doug Strong, M.B.A., credited Warner for her consistent leadership over the years.

"I have known Pat for 13 years," Strong says. "She has led both the children's and women's hospitals to prominence as national leaders in care. She has great wisdom that has benefited this entire organization."

"Under her leadership, we accomplished tremendous feats — not the least of which was building and opening our newest hospital. She will be missed, but we all wish her well on her next adventure."

Warner, a 1977 graduate of the School of Public Health, began her U-M career as administrative manager and disaster director of University Hospitals. She rose through the ranks and held administrative positions in ambulatory care, emergency services and eventually landed at the women's and children's hospitals in 1994, in the role of associate hospital director.

Since then, she has overseen the day-to-day operations of the children's and women's hospitals. In 2009, she became the executive director of the hospitals and provided strategic direction for the hospitals, leadership for multiple services including leading the project for replacement of the children's and women's hospitals.  In her current role, she leads the Health System's Patient and Family Centered Care Program, Social Work and the Community Health Services Program.

A national search will be launched for Warner's successor. Details will be announced as they become available.

In addition to her position as executive director of the children's and women's hospitals, Warner, has served on numerous community and national boards. She currently is a member and chair of the American Hospital Association's Maternal and Child Health Council. She is a past board member of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), she served on the Griffith Leadership Board and is a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA). In Washtenaw County, she is a past board member on the Arbor Hospice Board of Directors, serves as a member of Board of Directors of the Ann Arbor Y and is a member of the Ann Arbor Development Authority.  

Click here to listen to an interview with Pat Warner, after the move to the new hospital was completed:

About C.S. Mott Children's Hospital:
The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the country. It was nationally ranked in all ten pediatric specialties in the U.S. News Media Group's 2011 edition of "America's Best Children's Hospitals" including third in the country for heart and heart surgery. The hospital is now in a new 1.1 million square feet, $754 million state-of-the-art facility that is home to cutting-edge specialty services for newborns, children and women.

SOURCE C.S. Mott Children's and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital