Virginia Mason Franciscan Health moving one person into sole CEO role
The Seattle-Tacoma combined Virginia Mason Franciscan Health system will be down to just one CEO by the new year.
Dr. Gary Kaplan, who previously led Seattle-based Virginia Mason before it merged with Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan at the start of 2021, served as one of two CEOs for the joint operating medical system, alongside former CHI Franciscan CEO Ketul Patel.
On Tuesday, VMFH announced that Kaplan would be moving on, serving in 2022 for one year as a special adviser to Patel and as a senior vice president at parent company CommonSpirit Health “focused on quality, safety and patient experience,” according to an announcement.
VMFH operates as part of CommonSpirit Health, based in Chicago. CHI Franciscan became part of CommonSpirit Health’s network in 2019 when CHI (Catholic Health Initiatives) and Dignity Health aligned to form CommonSpirit.
Patel will take on the role of sole CEO of VMFH starting Jan. 1.
VMFH said Kaplan will continue to stay involved with the Virginia Mason Institute and to lead trips to Japan to train health care leaders in Toyota Production System methods.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve Virginia Mason and our Puget Sound communities, and I’m deeply proud of the strong progress we have made in our first year as the new VMFH health system, including the systemwide launch of the Virginia Mason Production System,” said Kaplan in a statement.
Kaplan served as CEO of Virginia Mason Medical Center for more than two decades.
“As we enter this new chapter, I’m confident that Ketul is the person best equipped to lead VMFH through the next years of growth and evolution,” he said.
Later, Kaplan told The News Tribune, “Ketul and I have been talking about this for some time ... I never thought that I would be serving as a CEO for 22 years, or even working this hard at age 70. And as we’ve had such a successful first nine months of this partnership and integration, it just felt like the right time to make this change.”
Kaplan said after next year’s work in the advisory capacity and as a top executive with CommonSpirit, he plans to remain active in the Puget Sound scene.
“I had the privilege of serving as chair of the Seattle (Metropolitan) Chamber of Commerce several years ago, and I realize how rewarding and how important it is to engage with the community,” he said. “So, I intend to continue to be engaged with our Seattle and Tacoma communities.
“I look forward to continuing to influence health care, participating with the Virginia Mason Institute and helping to educate people across the country and around the world about new and innovative approaches to care delivery, and most importantly, time to be with my family, time to enjoy my two grandchildren, to travel and to spend great quality time with my wife of 48 years, who’s been by my side every step of the way.”
