CHI Franciscan Health names COO

Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan Health has named its first chief operating officer in almost two years.

Ian Worden, formerly the COO of a 23-hospital system in Indiana, will start work in Tacoma on Monday, according to a news release.

Worden fills the spot last occupied by Cliff Robertson, who left Franciscan in early 2014 to run a health system in Nebraska. Shortly after Robertson left, former Franciscan CEO Joe Wilczek announced his retirement, so the new COO hiring was left for Franciscan’s new leader Ketul Patel, a spokesman said.

Before his post at Indiana’s St. Vincent Health System, he was chief financial officer at PeaceHealth in Eugene, Oregon.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to return to the Pacific Northwest and join CHI Franciscan Health,” Worden said in the release.

Worden received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida State University. He has a master’s in neuroscience, an MBA and a master’s in hospital administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 12:40 PM with the headline "CHI Franciscan Health names COO."