Kenneth Kashkin, M.D., Named President and CEO of CHI’s Institute for Research and Innovation

Kenneth Kashkin, M.D., a health care executive with more than two decades of experience in global research, biotechnology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, has been named president and chief executive officer of Catholic Health Initiatives’ Institute for Research and Innovation (CIRI).

Kashkin will direct all research and development initiatives for the Institute, which oversees three distinct business units – the Center for Clinical Trials; the Center for Healthcare Innovation; and the Center for Translational Research. The Institute, which includes a 20-person national staff, has brought cutting edge research and innovative care models to facilities across CHI’s system of 72 hospitals and affiliated facilities in 19 states.

“With Ken’s extensive experience and focus on innovation and research, we think he’s a perfect fit to help us advance and integrate cutting-edge research across CHI,” said John DiCola, CHI’s senior vice president for strategy and business development and chair of the Institute’s board of directors.

A specialist in internal medicine and psychiatry, Kashkin recently served as vice president, research and development, intravenous therapies, for Baxter Healthcare Corp., Deerfield, Ill., a global drug and device company with worldwide sales of almost $13 billion. Kashkin was responsible for R&D global strategy, marketing and portfolio decisions, with global P&L accountability, for both new products and an existing portfolio of more than 10,000 device and drug products producing annual revenues of approximately $1.7 billion in the hospital and outpatient settings

Kashkin will assume his new position July 25 at CHI, which is the third-largest nonprofit health care system in the U.S.

“CHI has identified research and development – and innovation in general – as a key priority,” said Kashkin. “I’m very excited by the opportunity to be a part of an organization that is doing pioneering work to achieve the very highest level of clinical quality and care.”

In a health care career spanning more than two decades, Kashkin also has served in key executive roles in several other global research, drug and device firms -- including Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc., Abbott Laboratories and Bayer AG, the world’s oldest and largest pharmaceutical developer.

Kashkin graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, where he also completed his residency and served as the Kennemer Fellow of General Internal Medicine. He was a Fellow in Psychiatry and a member of the faculty of Yale University School of Medicine. Kashkin is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry, and is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Psychiatric Association.

About Catholic Health Initiatives: CHI is a national nonprofit health organization with headquarters in Englewood, Colo. The faith-based system operates in 19 states and includes 72 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two community health-services organizations; and home health agencies. In fiscal year 2010, CHI provided almost $590 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With annual revenues of approximately $9 billion, CHI is the nation's third-largest Catholic health care system.