Armada leaving Henry Ford for Advocate Lutheran

Tony Armada, president and CEO of 768-bed Henry Ford Hospital and Health Network, Detroit, is resigning next month to become president of 584-bed Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, Ill., according to a memo from the Henry Ford Health System.

Armada is a visible figure in the industry, named by Modern Healthcare as one of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare in 2008. In 2007, he became the first-ever chairman of the Association of Pan-Asian Healthcare Leaders, a splinter group to the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Armada has been top executive at the Detroit-based seven-hospital system's flagship facility since 2004. His departure is effective Nov. 20, the memo says.

“Tony has been a great asset to Henry Ford for the last five years and has been a major force in all of our significant improvement initiatives—from quality and access to growth and patient satisfaction,” Robert Riney, Chief Operating Officer of Henry Ford Health System, said in the Oct. 28 memo.

Armada takes the on role at eight-hospital Advocate Health Care, Oak Brook, Ill., following the departure of David Stark, who left the Advocate Lutheran for family reasons on Aug. 14, about six months after he began the job.

Bill Santulli, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Advocate Health Care, said officials at Advocate were excited to have Armada come work for the system. “He has an impressive track record of leading some of the nation's top healthcare organizations,” Santulli said of Armada.