Catholic Health East: Latest News

Judith M. Persichilli Named Executive Vice President By Catholic Health East

May 16, 2003

Catholic Health East (CHE), one of the nation’s leading Catholic healthcare systems, announced today the appointment of Judith M. Persichilli as the next executive vice president of the System’s Mid-Atlantic Division, effective July 1, 2003. She is replacing Mark T. O’Neil who was recently named the System’s next Chief Operating Officer.

In her new position, Persichilli will be responsible for overseeing the operations of Regional Healthcare Corporations (RHCs) within the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, NJ, an RHC within CHE where she has served as president and CEO since 1995. She will also serve as a member of the organization’s Senior Management Team.

"With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare leadership, Judy is uniquely qualified for this position. Her strong strategic, financial, communications, decision making and team-building experience are the types of skills and competencies we need to help bring our System to the next level of operational excellence," said Chief Operating Officer Robert V. Stanek.

According to William Watson, chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. Francis Medical Center, "Judy has been an advocate and a voice for healthcare access to the poor and underserved. Through her commitment to quality healthcare, nursing standards and the mission of Catholic healthcare, Judy is a respected and admired member of this community whose energy, charisma and keen humor are renowned. Judy’s promotion to a senior level position in CHE strengthens our hospital’s position into the future, and this board looks forward to her continued, active participation at St. Francis as executive vice president in CHE."

Among her many achievements, Persichilli is credited with the stabilization of the medical center’s financial future. During her tenure at St. Francis, Persichilli lobbied and won the certificate of need by the New Jersey Department of Health that allowed St. Francis to open the Heart Hospital, Mercer County’s only comprehensive cardiac surgery program that is rated top three in the state, and she was instrumental in having her healthcare facility being recognized as the first Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence in Mercer County.

She is particularly noted for the development of innovative approaches to caring for the poor including Trenton’s first bi-lingual primary care center, Centro Medico; the first primary care medical van, St. Clare Medical Outreach Van, which travels to 23 medically underserved areas of Trenton and Mercer County to provide primary care; an innovative collaboration with the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services and a local parish in the development of Angel’s Wings, the only hospital-based, New Jersey state emergency shelter for abused children; and the East Ward Parent/Child Center of Children’s Futures, one of four Trenton centers funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to provide family support focused on improving the lives of infants, toddlers, parents and parents-to-be.

Persichilli gave Mercer County the only in-patient hospice care unit through a collaboration with Compassionate Care Hospice, and a comprehensive cancer center, Fox Chase Cancer Center at St. Francis, through the affiliation with internationally known Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Throughout her impressive career, Persichilli has assumed positions of increasing responsibility in the fields of healthcare, along with experience in insurance, finance and advocacy initiatives.

Prior to her most recent position, Persichilli served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of St. Francis from 1992 to 1995. From 1988 to 1992, she was the executive vice president and COO for St. Peter’s Medical Center in New Brunswick, NJ.

Persichilli began her healthcare career as a nurse, graduating in 1968 from St. Francis Hospital’s School of Nursing. She graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree, and summa cum laude from Rider College in 1980 with a masters degree in Administration.

She is a member of many prestigious Boards including the Health Care Administration Board of New Jersey, the Rider University Board of Trustees, the Kerney Foundation and the Healthcare Quality Institute of New Jersey.

Catholic Health East is a multi-institutional Catholic health system, which is co-sponsored by 14 religious congregations and Hope Ministries, a Public Juridic Person within Catholic Health East. Based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, the System provides the means to ensure the continuation of the Catholic identity and operational strength of the sponsors’ health ministries, which are located within 11 eastern states from Maine to Florida.

The System includes 31 acute care hospitals, 46 free-standing and hospital-based skilled nursing facilities, 17 residential facilities, five free-standing behavioral health and rehabilitation facilities, and numerous ambulatory and community based health services. Catholic Health East facilities employ approximately 43,000 full time employees as partners in ministry.

Catholic Health East has four divisions, the Southeast Division in Tampa, Florida; the Northeast Division in Springfield, Massachusetts; the Continuing Care Division, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania; and the Mid-Atlantic Division, of which St. Francis is one of 13 hospitals in this region that covers Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and includes related care and home health services. With combined total revenues of $5 billion and $5.4 billion in total assets, Catholic Health East is one of the nation’s largest Catholic health care systems.

St. Francis Medical Center was founded in 1874 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia as Trenton’s first hospital. It is a 254 bed tertiary facility serving the greater Trenton area with regional centers of excellence that include the Heart Hospital, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Women’s Healthcare Center and the Neurosciences Institute. St. Francis Medical Center is also the first hospital in the Trenton/Mercer area to achieve Magnet Recognition for Nursing Excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

"Judy’s accomplishments are too numerous to recount, but under her leadership a strong senior management team is in place to carry on our mission to be a transforming and healing presence in our community," added Watson.

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