Bill Robertson is set to retire from his position as MultiCare CEO at the end of this year. Dane Gregory Meyer Courtesy <\/p>\n
MultiCare also expanded its territory in other new business ventures, including acquiring Yakima Memorial Valley Memorial in 2023<\/a> and partnering with Bellevue-based Overlake Medical Center & Clinics in 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n Last year the system announced its first foray into Oregon with affiliation plans with Corvallis, Oregon-based Samaritan Health Services.<\/a><\/p>\n In Pierce County, Robertson also led MultiCare\u2019s work in a joint venture with then-CHI Franciscan (now Virginia Mason Franciscan Health) to build and operate Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital in Tacoma, which opened in 2019.<\/p>\n MultiCare\u2019s new Mary Bridge Children\u2019s Hospital opened this year at its own campus in Tacoma, allowing for new utilization of existing space at the health system\u2019s Tacoma General Hospital.<\/p>\n Robertson was at the helm also during the COVID-19 pandemic and its related staffing, medical and financial challenges for the health system. Operational<\/a> and security issues<\/a> at Wellfound have also faced scrutiny.<\/p>\n The health system has also faced its share of informational pickets through the years over wage levels and staffing, as well as safety concerns raised by health care workers during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Today, MultiCare operates as a 13-hospital health system, serving more than 2.6 million people with 30,000 team members.<\/p>\n \u201cOn behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Bill Robertson for his extraordinary leadership and the lasting impact he has had on MultiCare,\u201d said John Wiborg, board chair for MultiCare Health System in a statement. \u201cAs MultiCare moves forward into this next chapter, the board has full confidence and trust in Florence Chang as she steps into this leadership role.\u201d<\/p>\n Chang joined MultiCare in 2006 as the senior vice president and chief information officer. Before becoming president of MultiCare in 2022, Chang served as executive vice president and chief operating officer. She led operations across eight hospitals and more than 180 clinics while overseeing key systemwide functions such as supply chain, information services and technology, clinical support services, and facilities, the health system noted.<\/p>\n Under Chang\u2019s leadership, according to the release, \u201cMultiCare was named top in the nation for information technology and won the prestigious HIMSS Davies Organizational Award of Excellence, given to just one health care system in the country for effectively using health information technology, such as the electronic health record, to improve the safety and quality of patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m deeply grateful for the chance to carry MultiCare\u2019s mission forward,\u201d said Chang in a statement. \u201cI am humbled by the MultiCare board and Bill\u2019s confidence in me. I have spent much of my career here, and it has been a privilege to help build a health system devoted to the health and healing of the communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI step into this role with optimism for our future,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Florence Chang will become president and CEO of MultiCare starting Jan. 1, 2027. MultiCare Courtesy <\/p>\n
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