Persichilli to succeed Stanek as CEO at Catholic Health East

Catholic Health East, Newtown Square, Pa., announced Judith Persichilli will succeed Robert Stanek as president and CEO. Stanek, chief executive of the 23-hospital Catholic system since December 2003, is expected to step down by the end of 2010.

Persichilli, a registered nurse, has been named CHE executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective immediately. She succeeds Mark O'Neil as COO, who stepped down in November. She was previously the system's executive vice president of acute care, a position she has held since 2008, according to a news release announcing her appointment. Prior to that, she was CHE mid-Atlantic division executive vice president and CEO of the system's St. Francis Medical Center, a 168-bed hospital in Trenton, N.J.

She was selected after a nationwide search, according to the system. “Judy's background and expertise as a clinician and executive in Catholic healthcare, together with her years of experience as part of CHE's senior management team, make her ideally suited to lead Catholic Health East into the future,” said Jacquelyn Kinder, chairwoman of CHE's governing board, in a written statement.

In a message posted on the system's Web site, Stanek said Persichilli's knowledge of the system will allow the chief executive transition to be “completed in a shorter time period than originally anticipated.”

Stanek was executive vice president and COO prior to his promotion as chief executive and also served as CHE's executive vice president of the mid-Atlantic division from 1997 to 2001. Ages for Persichilli and Stanek were not available at deadline.

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