NCQHC head announces retirement

Catherine McDermott is retiring as president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based National Committee for Quality Health Care, effective March 31, 2005. McDermott, 65, served as head of the not-for-profit organization for eight years. Bruce McWhinney, chairman of the committee's board, said in a letter that executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International has been hired to find McDermott's replacement. Before joining the quality group, McDermott was the founding president and CEO of Grantmakers in Health, a not-for-profit philanthropy in Washington. -- by Tony Fong