The president and CEO of the large Catholic health system will be the American Hospital Association's highest elected official for 2021.
Rod Hochman, MD, president and CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH) in Renton, Washington, was named chair-elect designate Thursday by the American Hospital Association (AHA) board of trustees.
That means Hochman will become AHA chair in 2021, making him the highest elected official for the national association of hospitals and health systems, according to the AHA's announcement.
"The AHA plays a critical role in the health of the nation," Hochman said in a statement. "I am honored to serve in this role and look forward to continuing to advance our vision of giving all individuals the chance to live to their healthiest potential."
Hochman is currently a member of the AHA board's executive committee; he chairs the AHA Regional Policy Board 9; and he is the immediate past chair of the Catholic Health Association of the United States board of trustees, according to the announcement.
Hochman has helmed PSJH since 2012, overseeing the 51-hospital nonprofit Catholic health system. He was featured on the June 2018 cover of HealthLeaders magazine and quoted in the story, "4 Strategies to Compete With Disruptors and Win." He has frequently shared his industry insight with the HealthLeaders audience.
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Prior to his work for PSJH, Hochman was president and CEO of Swedish Health Services, a five-hospital nonprofit health system in the Seattle area. He also has worked for Sentara Healthcare and Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati.
Hochman's medical background is in rheumatology and internal medicine.
The announcement came on the first day of the AHA Leadership Summit, where Hochman appeared on stage with the current AHA chair, Brian Gragnolati; chair-elect for 2020, Melinda Estes, MD; and AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack.
Steven Porter is an associate content manager and Strategy editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.
Photo credit: At top: Rod Hochman, MD, president and CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health in Renton, Washington. (Jennifer Boyle/The Verbatim Agency)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The announcement was made on the first day of the AHA Leadership Summit, where Hochman appeared with the 2019 and 2020 chairpeople.
Hochman is a physician executive whose medical background is in both rheumatology and internal medicine.