VGH Names New CEO
Mike Liepman to start on December 2

Monroe, WA – Providing patients with safe, quality care in a healing environment is the mission of Valley General Hospital. The VGH Board of Commissioners is pleased to announce the selection of a new CEO who is highly capable and motivated to carry out this mission. After an extensive search, the hospital is proud to announce that at the November 11 Board Meeting a Resolution was read requesting Mike Liepman of Gig Harbor to be named the new CEO at Valley General Hospital. The Resolution will be voted on at the December 2 Board meeting, with plans to have Mr. Liepman start on December 2, 2009.

The Board of Commissioners worked with a national search firm, Witt/Kieffer to narrow the pool of candidates to five. The Board did initial interviews at the end of September and narrowed the selection to three. The three finalists were brought in the week of October 5 and had extensive interviews with physicians, managers and directors, the community advisory committee and attended open socials with the staff. The board took feedback from these groups and made a decision last week. They were impressed by Mr. Liepman and what he will bring to the hospital.

Liepman has strengths in strategic planning and market growth, physician recruitment and collaboration, competitive positioning and operational and clinic improvements. He was previously the VP of Guest Services and Facilities at Franciscan Health Systems. Prior to that, Mr. Liepman worked for Empire Health Services in Spokane WA, where he was responsible for the operations of a 388-bed tertiary hospital, a 123-bed general acute care hospital and related clinics.

Liepman is looking forward to being part of the community. "I am very excited to join the team at Valley General Hospital that is carrying out the mission of providing high quality care to the community,” says Liepman. “I was tremendously impressed with the Board, Community Advisors, Medical Staff, and employees’ commitment to VGH and their vision for the hospital.”

Neil Watkins, Chair of the Board of Commissioners states, “we were very pleased with the caliber of applicants we had for this position, and are excited about Mike. He brings all of the right skills, experience and character Valley General needs to move purposefully forward in enhancing the health of our community.”

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