11/16/2007

LibertyHealth Board Names Joseph F. Scott President, CEO

JERSEY CITY - The Board of Trustees of LibertyHealth System Inc. has named Joseph F. Scott, an outstanding hospital administrator with expertise in performance and quality management, president and CEO of the Hudson County hospital and health service system.

Scott comes to LibertyHealth from Broward County, Fla., where he currently is chief executive officer of Broward General Medical Center, the largest hospital of the Broward Health hospital system, and Chris Evert Children’s Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. Scott has been a health care administrator with Broward Health since 1986. He is expected to begin his duties at LibertyHealth in about 60 days.

“LibertyHealth is a strong hospital system poised to become a great system. It is an honor to be a part of this new phase of LibertyHealth’s development, to help it achieve its full potential for the people of the region and the employees of the system,” said Scott. “I look forward to working with the medical staff, employees and community to build a robust health system that will meet and exceed the expectations of Hudson County.”

“Of all the highly qualified candidates we interviewed in the course of our nationwide search, Joe was the one whose skills and experience were best suited to make LibertyHealth both financially independent and the leading center for medical quality,” said Brett Harwood, LibertyHealth Board of Trustees chair.

Scott has a solid record of physician recruitment and development of quality medical programs. During his tenure, his hospital received awards from HealthGrades, which named Broward General Medical Center in the top five percent of quality clinical programs.

The hospital also received the Codman Award from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations for excellence in performance measurement and improvement that positively impacts patient care and safety. While CEO of North Broward Medical Center, the hospital was awarded the Governor’s Sterling Award for performance improvement. Scott’s work helped Broward General Medical Center, a safety net hospital, become the region’s quality hospitalization destination and the flagship of the Broward Health system.

“Joe has strong leadership skills and is very creative. He’s brought many innovative programs to Broward General and is well regarded by patients, employees and medical staff,” said Harwood. “Like Jersey City Medical Center, Broward General is the safety net hospital for the region. Joe has built that role into the hospital’s strength, allowing it to thrive both clinically and financially. We strongly believe these skills are vital to the health care programs of LiberyHealth and the people of our community.”

“LibertyHealth has the potential to bring world class health care to everyone it serves. I am impressed with the commitment of the Jersey City and Hudson County communities, as well as the LibertyHealth Board, for their dedicated time and efforts to promote this system,” said Scott.

The Board of Trustees conducted a year-long nationwide search for its chief executive with the assistance of Quick Leonard Kieffer, an executive search firm specializing in finding top executives for hospital and health care companies.

E. Stephen Kirby, who had been LibertyHealth’s COO and CFO, has served as interim president and CEO since 2006 and has agreed to serve in that role through the transition. “Steve has shown tremendous leadership during a challenging year and has put LibertyHealth and Jersey City Medical Center on a sound financial footing. We thank him for all he has done to put the system in order. We are now ready to move forward under Joe’s leadership to develop our facilities and services in a way that best meets the community’s needs,” said Harwood.

LibertyHealth System includes Jersey City Medical Center / Wilzig Hospital, Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center, Greenville Hospital, the Liberty Heart Institute, Behavioral Health, the Liberty Rehabilitation Institute, the Liberty Wound Center, and Liberty Home Care, among other services. Its mission is to improve the health status of area residents, with compassion and dignity through a full range of health care programs and services.

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