Longtime MultiCare Health System President and CEO Diane Cecchettini, RN, has announced plans to retire the second quarter of 2014.
MultiCare is the largest not-for-profit health system in the South Sound region, with five hospitals, dozens of clinics, 10,600 employees and a 2,000-member medical staff.
Cecchettini joined MultiCare in 1989 as vice president of patient services. In 1999, she became president and CEO, the first woman and the first nurse to hold the position. She had previously worked for Sutter Health System in Sacramento and UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Cecchettini spent 21 years in the Air Force Reserve as a flight nurse in aeromedical evacuation. She served in the Vietnam era and was a troop commander in Desert Storm, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1993. She served two terms as chair of the governing board of the Washington State Hospital Association, as well as serving on many community boards in Tacoma/Pierce County.
She has won numerous regional, state and national awards for her leadership in the health care industry, including the Joe Hopkins Memorial Award from the Washington State Hospital Association, CEO IT Achievement Award from Modern Healthcare Magazine and the Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS) and was named a Woman of Influence by the Puget Sound Business Journal.
“Diane has provided superb leadership to MultiCare during her nearly 25 years with our organization,” said John Folsom, chairman of the MultiCare Health System (MHS) Board of Directors. “We have been fortunate to have such a well respected and capable leader at the helm. Diane is a tireless advocate for quality patient care.”
During her tenure as CEO, Cecchettini oversaw the expansion of the MultiCare system to include Good Samaritan Hospital and Auburn Medical Center, the early adoption of a sophisticated electronic health record system and major improvements to hospital facilities including new Emergency Departments at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital and MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.
She also was instrumental in re-establishing trauma services in Tacoma, in partnership with Franciscan Health System and Madigan Army Medical Center.
The MHS Board has assembled a search committee to begin the process of recruiting the next CEO.
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