Central Valley Region President
David P. Benn named President of Sutter Health’s new Central Valley Region
MODESTO – March 6, 2009 – David P. Benn has been named President of Sutter Health’s newly formed Central Valley Region. Benn will oversee the operations of Sutter Health’s physician organizations and acute care hospitals in the Central Valley Region, including San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties.
“I am pleased to lead Sutter Health’s Central Valley Region in this new role,” Benn said. “Working together this way will help us preserve and strengthen services for our communities and improve clinical quality and patient satisfaction. I look forward to working with the facility leaders to further propel our technology adoption and capitalize on growth opportunities while continuing to focus on making Sutter Health the best place to provide and receive care.”
In his former position as CEO for Sutter Health’s Central Valley Service Area Hospitals, Benn was responsible for hospital operations at three hospitals for a combined 553 acute care beds, and more than 5000 employees and 27,000 admissions. During that ten year period, he worked to coordinate services across the region and led the effort to significantly improve patient satisfaction, quality and financial performance at each of the hospitals. Prior to that, as Memorial Hospitals Association CEO, he led the strategic decision to affiliate with Memorial Hospital Los Banos, then later with Sutter Health.
“Dave brings over 30 years of health care leadership experience to this new position,” said Pat Fry, Sutter Health President and CEO. “He has earned a reputation as a trusted and respected leader, and his depth of knowledge gained from working in the Central Valley makes him uniquely qualified for this new role.”
Benn holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. His professional associations include the American College of Healthcare Executives, California Hospital Association and Hospital Council of Northern and Central California. Additionally, his extensive community involvement includes
leadership positions in Rotary International, Modesto Rotary and Community Hospice. A native of the Central Valley, Benn was born at Memorial Ceres, raised in Ripon and has made his home in Modesto.
Sutter Health announced in November 2008 the creation of a new regional approach to governance designed to provide more seamless and coordinated care to patients. Sutter Health’s 23 Northern California hospitals and eight physician organizations are being configured in a five-region model designed to reflect existing health care access patterns of Northern California consumers. Each region will have its own governance and management structure. The regional approach is expected to take several months to finalize and implement.
About Sutter Health
The Sutter Health Central Valley Region includes Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, Memorial Hospital Los Banos and Sutter Gould Medical Foundation care centers in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties. Sutter Health is a family of not-for-profit hospitals, physician organizations and other medical services that share resources and expertise to advance health care quality and access. Serving more than 100 communities in Northern California, Sutter Health is a regional leader in cardiac care, cancer treatment, orthopedics, obstetrics, and newborn intensive care, and is a pioneer in advanced patient safety technology.
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