St. Joseph Health's Deborah Proctor to Retire at Year's End

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Deborah Proctor, president and CEO of St. Joseph Health for 10 years, is retiring effective December 31, 2015. Proctor has guided St. Joseph Health through some of the most challenging and transformational times in health care. Today the $6 billion Catholic not-for-profit health system is stronger than ever, serving California, Texas and New Mexico with 16 urban and rural hospitals, extensive delivery systems of medical groups and physician networks, home health agencies, hospice care, outpatient services, skilled nursing facilities, community clinics and wellness centers.

In making the announcement, St. Joseph Health Board Chair Bill Noce said, "When I think of one word to describe Deborah Proctor, it's 'leader.' Through her unique talents and guided by the spirit of our founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, Deborah has been a true visionary who has shaped St. Joseph Health into a highly successful organization that delivers on its ministry of healing to thousands of lives each year and greatly improves the health of the communities we serve. She truly has a compassionate heart combined with a brilliant mind."

Proctor's hallmark has been bringing people together. Throughout her tenure, she has advocated for including many stakeholders from across the system's expansive regions when establishing the organization's strategies.  "Deborah brought so many gifts to our ministry, including an extraordinarily compassionate presence and an ability to make courageous decisions. She has deeply influenced the culture of St. Joseph Health, particularly through focusing the organization on Sacred Encounters, Perfect Care and Healthiest Communities. She has also long advocated for a reform of health care, which would extend services to the unemployed, under-employed and disenfranchised. This intersection of focus and empathy are what we have always admired and cherished in Deborah's leadership," said Sr. Katherine Gray, CSJ, chair of St. Joseph Health's sponsor, St. Joseph Health Ministry.

Proctor is St. Joseph Health's first woman lay chief executive. A graduate of University of California, Los Angeles, she began her career as a critical care nurse and an associate professor. Later, she served in various leadership positions at St. Joseph Hospital and the health system office.  In the 1990s, she became a Hay Group consultant, where she quickly advanced through the ranks and was invited to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  In 1999, she became chief administrative officer and SVP of organizational effectiveness of Ascension Health, one of the nation's largest health systems. While at Ascension, she was pivotal in bringing the organization together, shepherding many cultures into a new one and leading a planning process that resulted in Ascension's core strategies – health care that works; health care that's safe; health care that leaves no one behind. In 2005, Proctor returned to St. Joseph Health to assume the president and CEO position.

In 2011, Proctor was recognized by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare and she has been named for four consecutive years by Becker's Hospital Review as one of the Top Women Hospital and Health Care Leaders to Know. She is also Women in Health Administration's Woman of the Year (2014) and the Orange County Business Journal's Women in Business Award recipient (2014). From 2013-14, she served as board chair of Catholic Health Association, a national association of more than 1,200 Catholic health care sponsors, systems, facilities and related services. Proctor was instrumental in CHA's work to oversee reconstruction of St. Francois de Sales Hospital in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Proctor's successor will be determined through a process led by the board and sponsor, the St. Joseph Health Ministry. This process will involve key internal and external stakeholders and will include a comprehensive review of candidates. A successor will be named later in the year. "We expect a smooth transition as we express our gratitude to Deborah and take on the most difficult task of finding a leader to follow in her footsteps," said Noce.

About St. Joseph Health

St. Joseph Health is one of the nation's top Catholic health systems, which serves communities throughout California, Texas and New Mexico. A $6 billion not-for-profit organization, St. Joseph Health consists of 16 hospitals, medical groups and physician organizations, home health agencies, hospice care, outpatient services, skilled nursing facilities, community outreach services and health and wellness centers. Founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, St. Joseph Health strives to build Healthiest Communities; deliver Perfect Care and foster Sacred Encounters among patients, families and one another. It is one of only 20 organizations worldwide to receive the coveted Gallup Great Workplace Award for three consecutive years (2007 – 2009). For more information, visit www.stjhs.org.

Career Highlights, Deborah Proctor,
 President and CEO, St. Joseph Health

• Expanded St. Joseph Health to include 16 urban and rural hospitals, an extensive delivery systems of 15 medical groups and physician networks, home health agencies, hospice care, outpatient services, skilled nursing facilities, community clinics and wellness centers.
• Ensured that St. Joseph Health is the market leader in each of the regions it serves and, in many instances, its  hospitals continue to be recognized as the community's most preferred. (Covenant Health was voted "Best Hospital/Health System" by readers of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and Santa Rosa Memorial has been National Research Corporation's "Consumer Choice" award winner for 16 of the past 17 years.)
• Led her team to become one of only a handful of organizations worldwide to be awarded The Gallup Organization's prestigious Great Workplace Award, 2007 – 2009.
• Grew the St. Joseph Health Community Partnership Fund, which is funded by a 10 percent contribution from each St. Joseph Health hospital in support of local health and wellness programs, services and clinics.
• Ensured an extensive information infrastructure including championing interactive tools that empower health care consumers and investing in a new IT startup focused on patient engagement called DaTu.
• Led the 2013 ground-breaking Orange County, Calif.  affiliation with Hoag Hospital along with  Richard Afable, MD, the former CEO of Hoag Health and current CEO of the health system's Southern California division.
• Funded The Innovation Institute as a vehicle for St. Joseph Health to explore effective, thoughtful responses to health care challenges and collaborate with others who share St. Joseph Health's focus and vision. The institute supports physicians and employees in incubating their new ideas for improving health care products and services and has a strategic alliance with Cleveland Clinic Innovations.
• Introduced Healthy for Life, a program focused on helping school children defeat childhood obesity; outcomes for this program show 20 percent of participants have moved into a healthy weight category (against a goal of 10 percent).
• Made wellness a new revenue stream for St. Joseph Health, exploring wellness products and services to help improve the health and well-being of large-scale employer groups.
• Introduced an on-site Wellness Corner for St. Joseph Health employees, resulting in outstanding outcomes for the organization's workplace such as a 13.5 percent decrease in stress and 33 percent decrease in tobacco use. This Wellness Corner concept has also been implemented in California residential and business parks in collaboration with The Irvine Company.
• Created the new revenue-generating companies which market construction, biomedical services and other expertise to other health care providers.
• Developed the Talent Planning and Resource Center to help employees in transition receive training and find new positions within or outside the health system.

SOURCE St. Joseph Health

Related Links

http://www.stjhs.org