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MultiCare hires new president and CEO to replace the retiring Diane Cecchettini [The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) :: ]
[February 24, 2014]

MultiCare hires new president and CEO to replace the retiring Diane Cecchettini [The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) :: ]


(News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Feb. 24--Tacoma-based MultiCare Health System, the largest private employer in Pierce County, announced Monday that it has hired a new president and CEO to replace the retiring Diane Cecchettini.



William G. "Bill" Robertson, president and CEO at Adventist HealthCare in Gaithersburg, Maryland, will assume like titles at MultiCare beginning May 1.

Robertson was chosen after a nationwide search.


"He has the utmost integrity and he has operated a facility in a very difficult state," said John Folsom, chairman of the MultiCare board of directors, on Monday afternoon.

"He is well met," Folsom said. "He writes his staff every week, 6,000 employees, with a story. He is a great leader." Folsom said the original pool of applicants, 300-strong, was narrowed to 15, then to seven who were interviewed, then to less than a handful who were chosen as finalists.

"There were a lot of fantastic, outstanding candidates," Folsom said. "Robertson was a standout." Prior to assuming leadership at Adventist HealthCare in 2000, Robertson served as CEO of Shawnee Mission Medical Center near Kansas City.

"MultiCare is a wonderful organization with strong values, a legacy of good stewardship, and a bright future," Robertson stated in a press release announcing his new position.

"It is a privilege to be asked to join the MultiCare team," he said.

Adventist HealthCare is a faith-based, nonprofit health system serving an area near Washington, D.C. Being faith-based is listed as one of six "critical success factors" at the health system, and the mission is simply stated: "We demonstrate God's care by improving the health of people and communities through a ministry of physical, mental and spiritual healing." MultiCare is secular and non-denominational, but this will not cause a conflict, Folsom said.

"We're satisfied that that is not an issue with him," he said.

When named last month as an "Influential Marylander" by a local publication, Robertson deflected the praise saying the award "is really a credit to the team of executives, physicians, nurses and employees across Adventist HealthCare." According to the Adventist website, Robertson was widely involved in community service whether on a statewide leadership council, chamber of commerce or the Maryland governor's Workforce Investment Board.

An Adventist release states that the organization is one of the largest employers in Montgomery County. The organization counts a number of employees similar to MultiCare, which was last year supported by more than 6,700 workers.

MultiCare Chairman Folsom was as generous in his praise of Robertson on Monday as he was of Cecchettini.

"She's been an outstanding leader," he said. "Most CEOs last five or six years. Diane has led MultiCare for 16 years." ___ (c)2014 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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