Patrick Madden and Laura Kaiser

Pensacola, FL -- Sacred Heart Health System announced today that Patrick J. Madden, the president and CEO of Sacred Heart Health System, will retire on January 1, 2010 after guiding the remarkable expansion of Sacred Heart’s services during the past 15 years.

“Patrick’s vision and success in building a regional health system serving Northwest Florida has produced major benefits for both Sacred Heart and for the entire region,” said Eric Nickelsen, chairman of the Sacred Heart Health System Board of Directors.  “Under his leadership, Sacred Heart became the leading healthcare provider in Northwest Florida. That success meant quality healthcare services were extended to more people in our region, including the poor, and under his leadership, Sacred Heart was able to create more than 2,000 new jobs in this area.”

Madden said: “For 15 years, it has been my privilege to lead a remarkable team of Sacred Heart employees and to serve the mission that the Daughters of Charity began here nearly a century ago. For me, it has been the most satisfying professional experience of my 35 years in healthcare.”

Madden, 65, will be replaced by Laura Kaiser, who joined Sacred Heart as its chief operating officer in 2008.  She has served as interim CEO of Sacred Heart since earlier this year when Madden took on additional responsibilities as the leader of Saint Thomas Health Services in Nashville, Tenn.

In addition to his role as CEO of Sacred Heart, Madden also has served in recent years as Gulf Coast/North Florida Ministry Market Leader for Ascension Health, Sacred Heart’s parent organization.  In this capacity, he oversaw hospitals and health facilities in Mobile, Ala. and Jacksonville, Fla., as well as Pensacola. Kaiser will replace Madden in this regional leadership role for Ascension Health on an interim basis. 

In February, Madden also assumed the role as interim Ministry Market Leader for Ascension Health facilities in Birmingham, Ala., and Nashville, Tenn., and became the interim CEO of Saint Thomas Health Services in Nashville.

Madden will continue as interim head of the Nashville health system until a new CEO is in place there. Madden said that once he concludes his leadership duties in Nashville, he looks forward to retiring and spending more time with his grandchildren.

“Patrick has made contributions on many levels to Ascension Health,” said Robert J. Henkel, President, Healthcare Operations, and Chief Operating Officer of Ascension Health. “Not only has he led Sacred Heart to a new level of excellence in Northwest  Florida, his impact has also been felt throughout Ascension Health as a strong, visionary leader respected by his peers.”

Madden said the time is right to make the change.

“I made the decision to retire knowing that Sacred Heart Health System is strong, vibrant, and well-positioned for success in the future,” Madden added. “We have had a gradual leadership transition over the past two years as my regional duties with Ascension Health have expanded and I had to spend more time away from Pensacola. I am confident that Sacred Heart’s mission will continue to be guided well by Laura Kaiser and the outstanding leadership team that we have in place.”

Starting soon after his arrival in Pensacola in 1995, Madden implemented a long-range plan to expand Sacred Heart’s facilities and services in Pensacola and throughout Northwest Florida. Under his leadership, Sacred Heart grew steadily to become a truly regional health system – with Pensacola at the center of a large network of medical facilities and physician offices. Sacred Heart Health System now operates hospitals in Pensacola and South Walton County as well as a nursing home, outpatient diagnostic centers, rehabilitation centers and physician offices that stretch from Baldwin County, Alabama, to Panama City Beach, Florida.  Next year, that regional growth will extend to Port St. Joe, where Sacred Heart is preparing to open a new community hospital. 

About Sacred Heart Health System
Sacred Heart is rated on national consumer surveys as the most preferred health care provider in Northwest Florida.   It employs more than 4,500 people.  Key services include Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, a Children’s and Women’s Hospital, a Level II Trauma Center, an expanding Cancer Center, a 120-bed nursing home, a Regional Heart and Vascular Institute, and a large regional network of primary care and specialty doctors. In 2003, the Health System added Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, a 58-bed community hospital east of Destin, Fla.

For more information, call 850-416-7000 or visit online at www.sacred-heart.org. 

About Ascension Health 
Ascension Health (www.ascensionhealth.org) is transforming healthcare by providing the highest quality care to all, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable.  Ascension Health, which provided $868 million in care of persons who are poor and community benefit last year, is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Its Mission-focused Health Ministries consist of 113,000 associates serving in more than 500 locations in 19 states and the District of Columbia.