CALL US TODAY: 718.869.7000 | 327 Beach 19th St, Far Rockaway NY 11691

header image

St. John’s Episcopal Hospital Announces the Appointment of New Chief Executive Officer Gerard M. Walsh

Posted on July 27, 2015

St. John's welcomes Gerard (Jerry) Walsh, a proven health care executive with broad based experience in hospital administration and management, most recently in the position of CEO of Western Maryland Hospital Center in Hagerstown, Maryland. During his tenure with Western Maryland, he built a new leadership team including a new chief medical officer and chief nursing officer, implemented several clinical services for the chronic care population including podiatry, dental, gynecology, ophthalmology and wound care, developed a plan of correction that rectified numerous Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deficiencies, and delivered a 3-year strategic plan recommending a forward course of action.

Based on more than 25 years of healthcare leadership experience, CEO Walsh brings a depth of expertise in organizational change, physician development, implementation of quality and patient safety programs, mergers and acquisitions, and a strong knowledge of community hospitals. With proven success in developing strong medical staff relationships through recruitment of talented physicians and the creation of new programs and services that drive margin growth, he comes to St. John's to expand high quality healthcare services to the community. "I look forward to my new role at St. John's Episcopal Hospital as the new CEO. The Hospital is vital to the community. We plan to be constructive participants while offering strong leadership in the ongoing public conversation about the future of healthcare including quality, cost and access. Patients will always be at the center of these discussions. Improving patient care is the reason our Hospital exists," said Mr. Walsh.

Prior to leading Western Maryland Hospital Center, Mr. Walsh spent 15 years as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Shore Regional Health, a three-hospital health system affiliated with University of Maryland Medical System. In this position, he was first charged to lead the regionalization plan for the Mid Shore, which integrated Chester River Health System into Shore Health System to form a new company - Shore Regional Health. Further, with overall system responsibility for net revenues of $320M, Quality and Process Improvement, Patient Safety, Joint Commission Accreditation and Shore Medical Group (a multi-specialty physician network and hospitalist program), he oversaw 231 acute licensed beds, a 20-bed Acute Rehab Center, Home Health and Hospice, 2625 employees and 415 active physicians, and built multi-million dollar programs including a 50-physician multi-specialty group practice.

Mr. Walsh also has significant administrative experience from his COO role with North Shore University Hospital at Forest Hills, New York, where he oversaw a 19,000 sq. ft. emergency department reconstruction project, initiated a $30M facility construction project, worked with architects and engineers to plan construction for a new two story radiology building, and instituted an extensive twelve month management education and professional development project. He also developed outpatient practice units for Pain Management, Men's Health, and Pediatric Cardiology, developed an ongoing service excellence program to improve customer satisfaction, and oversaw medical staff growth to include an additional 300 new physicians.

"I am both honored and extremely excited to lead St. John's Episcopal Hospital into the future. I have been anticipating entering my new role and look forward to the many opportunities and challenges ahead. My first priority will be getting to know the employees, hospital and community leaders and the medical staff so that we may work together to provide an excellent patient and family experience at St. John's."

A native New Yorker, Jerry was born and raised in Queens and attended High School in East Elmhurst. He has a Bachelors of Science in Health Care Administration from St. John's University, Jamaica, New York, and a Masters Degree in Health Systems Management from Iona College, New Rochelle, New York. He is married to his wife Karyn and they have one grown daughter.

"We are excited about Jerry's experience and welcome his leadership to St. John's Episcopal Hospital and to the communities we serve," said Bishop Lawrence C. Provenzano, the Episcopal Bishop of Long Island and President of the Board of Trustees of Episcopal Health Services Inc. "In his new role as Chief Executive Officer, Jerry will be responsible for developing and delivering against the hospital's strategic plan, for Board guidance, improving margins, and returning the Hospital to reputable profitable growth, thereby creating a pathway to strong sustainability while elevating the level of care we provide to our patients, families and area communities. His results-oriented approach and ability to think strategically will play a pivotal role in extending our track record of providing quality healthcare, close to home, for the residents of our service area who value being cared for in a medical setting that knows them and welcomes them."

327 Beach 19th Street Far Rockaway, NY 11691 | TO REACH US: (718) 869-7000