July 6 – Chicago – Lloyd H. Dean, the longtime CEO of Dignity Health who has led CommonSpirit Health with former Catholic Health Initiatives CEO Kevin E. Lofton since CommonSpirit was formed in Feb. 2019, became the company’s sole CEO on July 1 after Lofton’s planned retirement.
CommonSpirit announced Lofton’s retirement and Dean’s appointment as sole CEO in January. The transition comes at a key moment for the organization as it manages through the COVID-19 pandemic, implements a broad performance improvement plan, and works to expand its impact on social justice issues including the impacts of systemic racism in health care.
A nationally recognized health care leader, Dean led Dignity Health as President and CEO since 2000. He has been consistently recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare and one of the top minority executives by Modern Healthcare. In 2008, he served as Chair of the Catholic Health Association Board of Trustees. Before joining Dignity Health, Dean was executive vice president and COO of Advocate Health Care. At Dignity Health and now CommonSpirit Health, he has pioneered new care models that innovated how and where care is provided, all while championing health equity and advancing work to address the underlying social causes of poor health.
“There has never been a more important time to ensure access to healthcare for every person,” said Dean. “As we confront afflictions ranging from a worldwide pandemic to racism in our communities, we have an unprecedented moment to create a more just health system. I am honored to continue working with our tremendous team of physicians, nurses, staff and volunteers to improve the health of those we serve and advance social justice for all people.”
The CommonSpirit Board originally created a transitional two-CEO structure to provide successful integration of the two systems, and did not intend it to be permanent. Since CommonSpirit was formed Dean and Lofton have focused on bringing together the two organizations, establishing an integrated operating model across the system’s broad geographic footprint and extensive care continuum, and implementing a performance improvement and growth plan.
Dean says the health system will share more information in the coming months on its long-term strategy, but would be particularly focused on transforming care delivery as the country emerges from the pandemic, advocating for universal health coverage, addressing the social causes of poor health, and developing a health care workforce to meet the health needs of future generations.
“Lloyd has always recognized that health care is a reflection of our shared values,” said Tessie Guillermo, CommonSpirit Board chair. “For decades he has led high-achieving health care organizations while also advancing social causes and advocating for much-needed changes to improve the health of all people. The Board is confident that under his leadership, CommonSpirit is well-positioned to transform how we provide care and improve the health of people in communities across the 21 states we serve.”
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About CommonSpirit Health
CommonSpirit Health is a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. It was created in February 2019 through the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. CommonSpirit Health is committed to creating healthier communities, delivering exceptional patient care, and ensuring every person has access to quality health care. With its national office in Chicago and a team of approximately 150,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, CommonSpirit Health operates 137 hospitals and more than 1000 care sites across 21 states. In FY 2019, Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health had combined revenues of nearly $29 billion and provided $4.45 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unreimbursed government programs.
Learn more at commonspirit.org.
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