Cordova nominated chairman-elect of ACHE

Children's Hospital Los Angeles President and CEO Richard Cordova has been nominated chairman-elect of the American College of Healthcare Executives for 2014-15.

Current ACHE Chairman-elect Christine Candio, CEO of Inova Alexandria (Va.) Hospital and senior VP of Inova Health System in Falls Church, Va., will become chairman for 2014-15. And current Chairman Diana Smalley, regional president of Mercy Health in Oklahoma, will become immediate past chairman.

The international professional society of more than 40,000 healthcare executives will vote on Cordova's nomination in Chicago next March during its 57th annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership. If elected, Cordova, an ACHE governor since 2011, will then begin a three-year leadership term that includes a stint as chairman-elect for 2014-15, followed by chairman in 2015-16, and finally immediate past chairman in 2016-17.

“Rich has an outstanding track record as a leader in healthcare,” ACHE President and CEO Deborah Bowen said. “I think he brings a lot to the table in terms of integrity, lifelong learning and diversity.”

Cordova previously chaired the Institute for Diversity in Health Management, co-founded by ACHE. His commitment to diversity initiatives, including training, developing and mentoring young minority talent for the C-suite is a source of pride for Cordova. But he also sees the importance of bringing together diverse professions—doctors, nurses, executives—across the healthcare continuum as the industry changes.

“The integration and transformation of healthcare is what's going on, and as a college, what a perfect organization to bring those pieces together,” Cordova said. “We're excited about having the college take the lead and try to transform our healthcare delivery system and develop leaders.”

Cordova plans to accomplish that through education and training, conferences and networking, and partnering with other professional organizations. The idea of working with both internal and external stakeholders is one echoed by Bowen, who sees partnerships with the likes of payers, community-based resources, and process engineers as critical to innovating healthcare in order to most effectively serve patient and population health needs.

“I think what we're about is building the infrastructure in ways that matter,” Bowen said. “Multidisciplines are coming together to do that. We all have something unique to contribute.”

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