News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 10
Contacts: Clay Holtzman, Swedish, 206-386-2748, clay.holtzman@swedish.org
SEATTLE – Swedish/Cherry Hill Chief Operating Officer Rayburn Lewis, M.D., has been named the new chief executive of Swedish/Issaquah. He will begin work in his new role on Feb. 10 and replaces retiring Swedish/Issaquah Chief Executive Chuck Salmon.
“I am honored to be charged with the responsibility of leading one of the newest and highest quality hospitals in the entire region,” Dr. Lewis said. “Our focus will continue to be on building the strongest, healthiest communities across Issaquah and East King County.”
Dr. Lewis, a board-certified internal medicine physician who has been a member of Swedish’s medical staff since 1984, brings to his new executive role a wealth of leadership experience from across the Swedish system.
Dr. Lewis was medical director for Providence Seattle Medical Center from 1995 to 2002, and was Swedish’s vice president for medical affairs from 2002 to 2007. He also served as Medical Director of the Mother Joseph Clinic at Swedish Cherry Hill, which provided specialty physician services to uninsured and underinsured patients. Dr. Lewis practiced with the Minor & James Medical Group from 1987 to 1996, and maintained a small-but-active practice at the Swedish Family Medicine/Cherry Hill campus residency clinic until 2008.
In 2008, Dr. Lewis began serving as the chief executive for the Ballard campus, culminating in significantly improved financial performance, prior to stepping into the senior vice president/chief operating officer role at Swedish/Cherry Hill.
“After meeting with our leadership team, physician leaders and community and governance leaders to identify key attributes for the next chief executive for Swedish/Issaquah, we were fortunate to bring forward Dr. Lewis, who has the experience, depth and skill to ensure that Swedish/Issaquah continues to grow and thrive in support of every member of our Eastside communities” said Swedish Health Services Chief Executive, Anthony Armada.
About Swedish
Swedish has grown over the last 103 years to become the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah); ambulatory care centers in Redmond and Mill Creek; and Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. In addition to general medical and surgical care including robotic-assisted surgery, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. In 2012, Swedish provided more than $130 million in community benefit in Western Washington. For more information, visit www.swedish.org, www.facebook.com/swedishmedicalcenter, or www.twitter.com/swedish.
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