September 15, 2011—The three leading children’s hospital organizations that merged this spring—the National Association of Children’s Hospitals (NACH), the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) and Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA)—have chosen nationally know health care strategist Mark Wietecha as their new overall president and chief executive officer.
NACHRI is an advocacy group for 223 children’s hospitals in the United States and abroad and NACH is its public policy affiliate. CHCA is an alliance of 43 children’s hospitals in North America aimed at reducing costs and increasing revenue for its members.
Wietecha is the former executive chairman of the management consulting firm Kurt Salmon. The merged organizations’ new common board of trustees selected him for the post after an extensive national search and interview process. The three groups voted to unite in March.
Children’s hospitals gained eligibility for the 340B drug discount program under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. They began enrolling in the fall of 2009 after the Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) published final guidelines governing their participation. Thirty-two of them with a combined 115 outpatient sites are now part of the program.
Wietecha assumes his new post on Sept. 22. “I am thrilled to be taking the helm at such an exciting point for children’s hospitals,” he said in a prepared statement. “Our children are our future, and as the primary voice for children’s hospitals across the country and throughout the world, we will make a substantial impact on how we deliver health care to children—now and going forward.”
Wietecha succeeds Lawrence McAndrews, who is retiring at the end of the year after having spent almost 20 years at NACHRI and NACH, and Jerry Rutherford, who had been serving as interim CEO of CHCA.