MultiCare chief to step down at end of year after overseeing years of expansion
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- Bill Robertson will retire from his duties on Dec. 31.
- Florence Chang will become MultiCare president and CEO effective Jan. 1, 2027.
- Under Robertson, MultiCare grew to 13 hospitals serving over 2.6 million people.
Tacoma-based MultiCare Health System is bidding farewell to its longtime CEO.
In a release issued June 18, the health system announced that its Chief Executive Officer William “Bill” Robertson will retire on Dec. 31.
Florence Chang, who now serves as president, will move into the role of president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2027. Robertson will continue serving in his role through the end of the year and work with Chang toward the transition.
The health system said in its release, “The transition, which was approved unanimously by the MultiCare Board of Directors, follows a thoughtful, long-term succession planning process.”
“The privilege of serving MultiCare and building on more than a century of community-centric service has been one of the most rewarding roles of my career,” Robertson said in a statement. “I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our talented colleagues and community partners.”
Years of expansion under Robertson
Robertson came to MultiCare in 2014, served as president and CEO until 2022 and has served strictly as CEO since that time. He oversaw the system’s growth to become the “largest community-based nonprofit health system in the region,” the release noted.
He oversaw the system’s expansion efforts to increase access to primary, specialty and emergency care. Under his tenure, the health system launched initiatives such as its Indigo Urgent Care clinics in the area and also started freestanding emergency departments.
MultiCare also expanded its territory in other new business ventures, including acquiring Yakima Memorial Valley Memorial in 2023 and partnering with Bellevue-based Overlake Medical Center & Clinics in 2024.
Last year the system announced its first foray into Oregon with affiliation plans with Corvallis, Oregon-based Samaritan Health Services.
In Pierce County, Robertson also led MultiCare’s work in a joint venture with then-CHI Franciscan (now Virginia Mason Franciscan Health) to build and operate Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital in Tacoma, which opened in 2019.
MultiCare’s new Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital opened this year at its own campus in Tacoma, allowing for new utilization of existing space at the health system’s Tacoma General Hospital.
Robertson was at the helm also during the COVID-19 pandemic and its related staffing, medical and financial challenges for the health system. Operational and security issues at Wellfound have also faced scrutiny.
The health system has also faced its share of informational pickets through the years over wage levels and staffing, as well as safety concerns raised by health care workers during the pandemic.
Today, MultiCare operates as a 13-hospital health system, serving more than 2.6 million people with 30,000 team members.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Bill Robertson for his extraordinary leadership and the lasting impact he has had on MultiCare,” said John Wiborg, board chair for MultiCare Health System in a statement. “As MultiCare moves forward into this next chapter, the board has full confidence and trust in Florence Chang as she steps into this leadership role.”
Chang joined MultiCare in 2006 as the senior vice president and chief information officer. Before becoming president of MultiCare in 2022, Chang served as executive vice president and chief operating officer. She led operations across eight hospitals and more than 180 clinics while overseeing key systemwide functions such as supply chain, information services and technology, clinical support services, and facilities, the health system noted.
Under Chang’s leadership, according to the release, “MultiCare was named top in the nation for information technology and won the prestigious HIMSS Davies Organizational Award of Excellence, given to just one health care system in the country for effectively using health information technology, such as the electronic health record, to improve the safety and quality of patient care.”
“I’m deeply grateful for the chance to carry MultiCare’s mission forward,” said Chang in a statement. “I am humbled by the MultiCare board and Bill’s confidence in me. I have spent much of my career here, and it has been a privilege to help build a health system devoted to the health and healing of the communities we serve.”
“I step into this role with optimism for our future,” she added.
