Newswise — Mr. Mark R. Gavens has been appointed as Senior Vice President for Clinical Care Services and Chief Operating Officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Prior to joining Cedars-Sinai, Mr. Gavens served as Corporate Vice President of Systems Services at Sentara Health System, a large, integrated health delivery and insurance system in Norfolk, Virginia, known for its successful integration strategies and clinical innovation.
"Mr. Gavens is a successful, accomplished leader who has extensive experience in hospital operations and multi-facility management," said Thomas Priselac, President and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "He is highly regarded by the many physicians with whom he has worked and is known for his sensitivity to the needs and concerns of the entire hospital staff."
As the Senior Vice President of Clinical Care Services and Chief Operating Officer at Cedars-Sinai, Mr. Gavens' primary goal will be to implement programs ensuring that Cedars-Sinai continues to excel in providing quality services. To this end, Mr. Gavens will oversee the Medical Center's patient care operations, clinical service lines and support services.
Bringing a wealth of experience from Sentara, a health system 14,000 employees strong with revenues of $1.4 Billion, Mr. Gavens directed development and long-range financial planning for three new hospitals and campuses. Mr. Gavens also spearheaded the implementation of significant patient safety and customer service initiatives.
Prior to joining Sentara, Mr. Gavens served as senior executive officer at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, a 567-bed academic medical center in Chicago, Illinois, with revenues of $500 million, 1,000 physicians, and a staff of 4,000. During his tenure, Mr. Gavens focused his efforts on improving service excellence. He also directed development and financial planning of a new $800 million comprehensive medical center and the expansion of the hospital into home care, medical group management and rehabilitation services.
Mr. Gavens has held other executive positions at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland and St. Joseph's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Mr. Gavens holds a bachelor's of arts degree in political science from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and has been active on numerous boards and committees devoted to improving community health as well as the state of the healthcare industry.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of the largest non-profit academic medical centers in the Western United States. For the fifth straight two-year period, Cedars-Sinai has been named Southern California's gold standard in health care in an independent survey. Cedars-Sinai is internationally renowned for its diagnostic and treatment capabilities and its broad spectrum of programs and services, as well as breakthrough in biomedical research and superlative medical education. The medical center ranks among the top 10 non-university hospitals in the nation for its research activities.
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