PORTLAND, Ore. — OHSU, which is working through its due diligence to acquire Legacy Health, is launching a search for a new health system CEO, according to an internal announcement Wednesday from OHSU President Dr. Danny Jacobs.
OHSU Health Systems CEO Dr. John Hunter will continue in his role until June 30, Jacobs said, or until a new CEO is hired. OHSU is using Nexus Search Partners, an executive search firm, to assist in the search.
Hunter is the third-highest paid employee at OHSU after Jacobs and Dr. Nathan Selden, chair of neurosurgery, with a salary of $1.15 million. As Health Systems CEO, Hunter oversees operations of OHSU hospitals and clinics, which includes three hospitals with roughly 800 beds. He also leads statewide strategy, according to an organizational chart on the OHSU website.
A surgeon, Hunter has served as CEO of OHSU Health since 2017 and has been with the university since 2001. He will continue to serve as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Surgery, Jacobs’ said in an email to “OHSU members.”
Hunter “will remain engaged in leading the transition planning for the potential combination with Legacy Health at least until his successor is identified,” Jacobs said. He also said Hunter and he agreed "now is the time to launch a national search" for a new system CEO.
OHSU and Legacy announced in August they had signed a non-binding letter of intent to combine into a single system. OHSU has committed $1 billion in capital over the next decade, financed mostly through bond offerings, to support primary and community-based services in the combined system.
The combined system would be the largest employer in the Portland metro, with 32,000 employees and more than 100 locations, including 10 hospitals. OHSU Healthcare already has Hillsboro Medical Center and Adventist Health under its umbrella.
OHSU’s board is expected to consider the agreement at its meeting later this month. The transaction must also get the green light from regulators, including Oregon's Market Oversight program.
Jacobs said Brooke Baldwin, chief nursing executive, and Dr. Donn Spight, vice president of health equity, will co-chair the search committee.
This story is courtesy of KGW's news partner Portland Business Journal. Read more here.
