Jan. 25-Hurley Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Wardell has announced his intention to depart in March, 2012, after accepting a position as Chief Executive Officer at Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, MA. Cambridge Health Alliance is an academic and public health care system serving Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston's metro-north communities. With three hospital campuses, an extensive primary care network, and a largely employed medical staff, CHA provides high-quality, culturally-competent care to a diverse patient population.

“Hurley Medical Center is a special organization, with outstanding clinicians, nurses, specialists, and staff," said Wardell. "I’ve enjoyed my tenure here tremendously. With the guidance of an engaged board and the active participation of physician leadership and Hurley staff members, we have made enormous strides always mindful of our mission to serve all in our community. It has been an honor to lead an institution that lives its charitable values and always tries to put the needs of the patient above all else: that is the source of Hurley’s vitality and continued relevance to our community,” he added.

Over the past six years, Mr. Wardell has provided innovative and outstanding leadership for Hurley Medical Center, a 443-bed premier teaching hospital that provides residency programs in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology and radiology. Mr. Wardell turned a 7-year cumulative loss of $34 million into a $7 million surplus in two years. He also launched the Hurley Children’s Hospital and the $30 million state-of-the-art Paul F. Reinhart Emergency Trauma Center (opening March 2012). Additionally, he introduced patient-and family-centered care and Six Sigma principles to Hurley Medical Center.

Before joining Hurley, Mr. Wardell served in various leadership roles, including Regional Senior Vice President and Executive Director for St. Mary’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital in New York, NY, President and CEO of the St. Joseph’s Healthcare System in Paterson, New Jersey, and as Group Vice President, Ambulatory and Network Management Group for the Montefiore Medical Center/The University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.

Mr. Wardell received his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Union College in Schenectady, New York and his Master’s in Business Administration from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. He has served on various boards including the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH), Michigan Hospital Association, and Whaley Children’s Center.