New CEO To Lead Chi’s Nebraska Regional Health Network

Cliff A. Robertson, MD, has been named senior vice president and market CEO of Catholic Health Initiatives’ new Nebraska-based regional health network, effective February 3, 2014

Robertson, 51, is a long-time physician executive in the Tacoma, WA area and a boardcertified primary care physician. The Texas native is chief operating officer of Franciscan Health System in Tacoma and has been on loan as interim CEO of St. Luke’s Health System in Houston, TX, since October. St. Luke’s, Franciscan and the Nebraska network are affiliates of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI).

The Nebraska network is a new organization formed by the integration of Alegent Creighton Health and CHI health ministries in Grand Island, Kearney, Lincoln and Nebraska City. The network name will be introduced after the first of the year.

Richard L. Herink, chair of the network board and president, First National Bank of Lincoln, led the board search committee, which conducted a national search that considered internal and external candidates. “We are most impressed with Dr. Robertson’s proven leadership ability, collaborative style and entrepreneurial spirit. We believe these are qualities a CEO must possess to successfully lead in this new era of health care,” Herink said.

Michael T. Rowan, CHI’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said, “As a physician executive, Cliff has diverse management and business experience and a clear grasp of the opportunities and challenges ahead. He is deeply committed to the purpose of this network, which is to serve individuals and communities in Nebraska, southwest Iowa and northern Kansas to improve health in the region through an emphasis on education, healing, research and wellness.”

Robertson expressed excitement about his role as network chief. “I am honored to be chosen to help advance the health care ministry of the new regional network and I am pleased to remain a part of the CHI family. I look forward to working with the board, physicians, employees, managers, donors and volunteers to build upon the legacy of innovation and excellence that the network’s patients and communities have relied on for generations,” he said.

Richard A. Hachten, II, of Alegent Creighton Health and Robert J. Lanik of the CHI Nebraska health ministries are co-CEOs of the network. They will help orient Robertson before their retirements next year.

About Catholic Health Initiatives in Nebraska and Southwest Iowa – Alegent Creighton Health and the Catholic Health Initiatives organizations in Nebraska and southwest Iowa are integrating to create single, regional health network with a unified mission: nurturing the healing ministry of the Church while creating healthier communities. Headquartered in Omaha, the combined faith-based organization will consist of 16 hospitals, two stand-alone inpatient behavioral health facilities and more than 150 employed physician practice locations in Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Nearly 15,900 employees comprise the workforce of this network that includes 2,820 licensed beds and serves as the primary teaching partner of Creighton University’s health sciences schools. In fiscal year 2013, the network provided a combined approximate total of $138 million in quantified community benefit including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With locations stretching from Kearney, Neb. to Corning, Iowa, the health network is the largest in Nebraska and serves residents of Nebraska, southwest Iowa and northern Kansas. For more information, visit our websites:

www.alegentcreighton.com
www.chinebraska.org

16 hospitals:
Bergan Mercy Medical Center - Omaha
Community Memorial Hospital - Missouri Valley, IA
Creighton University Medical Center - Omaha
Good Samaritan Hospital - Kearney
Immanuel Medical Center - Omaha
Lakeside Hospital - Omaha
Memorial Community Hospital - Blair
Memorial Hospital - Schuyler
Mercy Hospital - Corning, IA
Mercy Hospital - Council Bluffs, IA
Midlands Hospital - Papillion
Nebraska Heart Hospital - Lincoln
Plainview Hospital - Plainview
Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center - Lincoln
Saint Francis Medical Center - Grand Island
St. Mary's Community Hospital - Nebraska

2 Stand-alone, Inpatient Behavioral Health Facilities
Lasting Hope Recovery Center - Omaha
Richard Young Behavioral Health Center - Kearney

About Catholic Health Initiatives – Catholic Health Initiatives, a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed in 1996 through the consolidation of four Catholic health systems, expresses its mission each day by creating and nurturing healthy communities in the hundreds of sites across the nation where it provides care. One of the nation’s largest health systems, Englewood, Colo.-based CHI operates in 18 states and comprises 87 hospitals, including four academic medical centers and teaching hospitals and 24 criticalaccess facilities; community health-services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home-health agencies; and other facilities that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. In fiscal year 2013, CHI provided $762 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. Learn more at www.catholichealthinitiatives.org.