Catholic Healthcare West Names Southwest Division President as New COO
San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West has appointed Michael Erne to the newly established position of chief operating officer, the Sacramento Bee reports. CHW officials, who made the announcement Wednesday, said that the new position will allow the 42-hospital system to "phase out its divisions to streamline decision-making and focus resources at the local level." Erne, president of the CHW's Southwest Division, joined the hospital system in 1997 as CEO of Mercy Healthcare Sacramento (Rapaport, Sacramento Bee, 3/28).