Brown confirmed as 2005 JCAHO chairman

Fred Brown, former chief executive officer of BJC Healthcare, St. Louis, and former American Hospital Association chairman, was elected to another influential position in the healthcare industry, chairman of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Brown, 64, now a healthcare consultant and chairman of the National Kidney Foundation, is completing a term as JCAHO vice chairman and will become chairman of the accrediting agency's 28-member board of commissioners for 2005. His appointment to the position was confirmed by the JCAHO board in mid-November and announced this week during the agency's annual meeting. In a news release, AHA President Richard Davidson said Brown's "record of leadership and accomplishment at the Joint Commission and previously with the AHA make the prospect of his JCAHO chairmanship particularly auspicious. He undoubtedly will help to lead the commission through an era of change as it faces rising expectations from the field, government and the public." -- by Joseph Conn