Mike Carter of Swedish/Edmonds Named Chief Administrator of Swedish/First Hill

Former Harborview CEO David Jaffe appointed as interim chief administrator of Swedish's Edmonds campus

SEATTLE, May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Swedish today announced that Mike Carter, the lead administrator of Swedish/Edmonds (formerly Stevens Hospital in Edmonds), has been appointed to serve as chief administrative officer of Swedish's First Hill campus, which is the largest facility in Swedish's five-hospital network.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110525/DC09346)

Carter is filling a role vacated by Swedish's former chief operating officer (COO) Cal Knight, who left in April to lead a health-care system in California. Carter became CEO of Stevens Hospital in 2006 and was responsible for a dramatic turnaround that resulted in significant improvements in clinical quality, financial performance, and patient, physician and employee satisfaction.

Carter has more than 30 years of experience in health-care administration. Prior to joining Stevens, he served as CEO of Anaheim Memorial Medical Center in California and as a senior executive at the Redlands Community Hospital in California. He also worked as an independent consultant to hospitals nationally, including major health-care systems such as HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) and Catholic Healthcare West.

"With his vast experience, it made sense to appoint him to the role of First Hill chief administrative officer. He also has a track record for consensus building and maintaining positive relationships with physicians and employees, which is a priority for Swedish," said Rod Hochman, M.D., president and CEO of Swedish.

The chief administrator role at Swedish/Edmonds will be filled on an interim basis by David Jaffe, who retired as CEO of Harborview after 16 years. Jaffe has been engaged with Swedish on a contract basis since last year, supporting Swedish's efforts to bring more health-care services to communities such as Issaquah, Mill Creek and Redmond.

During Jaffe's tenure at Harborview, the organization's reputation for quality grew appreciably both locally and nationally. He also shepherded major capital projects and helped improve the fiscal health of the institution by increasing reserves and philanthropic contributions. Jaffe is a retired clinical associate professor with the University of Washington Graduate School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Prior to joining Harborview, David was the COO at Nassau County Medical Center in Long Island, N.Y., a 615-bed Level I Trauma Center.

Jaffe's interim role will last six months. "Before that period comes to a close, Swedish administration will work with the Edmonds team to evaluate how to fill the position for the long-term. Meanwhile, David will work collaboratively with the staff in Edmonds to keep the campus moving forward and maintain the positive momentum that has already been gained there," said Dr. Hochman.

Carter and Jaffe will transition into their new roles during the month of June.

About Swedish

Swedish has grown over the last 100 years to become the largest, most comprehensive non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of four hospital campuses; emergency departments and ambulatory care centers in Issaquah, Redmond and Mill Creek; Swedish Visiting Nurse Services; and Swedish Medical Group – a network of more than 70 primary-care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. Swedish recently opened a new emergency department and medical office building (MOB) on its Ballard campus and will open a new MOB and hospital in Issaquah in mid-July 2011. In addition to general medical and surgical care, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. For more information, visit www.swedish.org.

In 2007, Swedish embarked upon an ambitious $100 million fundraising campaign. Campaign investments are used to support a wide-variety of initiatives throughout the health-care system, including cancer, heart and vascular, women and children, neurosciences, and orthopedics as well as programs to support underserved populations. To date, the campaign has secured gifts totaling more than $76 million. For more information or to support the campaign, visit www.campaignforswedish.org.

SOURCE Swedish Medical Center