New sheriff in town: Meet MetroWest Medical Center CEO David Elgarico
FRAMINGHAM — The search is over: MetroWest Medical Center has named veteran hospital administrator David Elgarico as its new chief executive.
He starts on July 18.
“I am excited for this opportunity to work with and serve the exceptional team at MetroWest Medical Center,” Elgarico said in a statement. “Among my top priorities are quality and safety, employee engagement and patient experience, and I look forward to continuing to cultivate a culture that promotes healing and patient-centered care.”
MetroWest Medical Center includes Framingham Union Hospital and Natick's Leonard Morse Hospital, the latter of which is focused on behavioral health.
Related: MetroWest Medical Center has a new chief nursing officer
Elgarico comes to MetroWest Medical Center from McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Oregon, where he served as CEO and oversaw the largest revenue-generating hospital in the Quorum Health system, according to a MWMC announcement.
His tenure included improvements to McKenzie-Willamette’s revenue, quality ranking and patient experience scores, according to the announcement. He also oversaw the completion of a $115 million expansion project and pushed for advancements in robotic surgery.
Previously: MetroWest Medical Center's CEO is leaving after 16 months on the job
In Framingham, Elgarico succeeds Ava Collins, who announced her resignation in April after 16 months on the job, making her the third chief executive the medical center had lost in less than four years.
The hospital has also endured other recent changes, including a switch in interpretation services and the decision to close some of its outpatient oncology and inpatient sleep medicine services. The state Department of Public Health will hold a public hearing next Wednesday about the proposed oncology services closure .
Find out: What to know about the hearing on MetroWest Medical Center cancer service closures
In addition to his time at McKenzie-Willamette, Elgarico brings with him years of experience as chief operating officer at facilities including New Orleans’ Touro Infirmary and Texas’ West Houston Medical Center and Rio Grande Regional Hospital.
He is also a member, speaker and moderator at the American College of Healthcare Executives and was co-founder and chair of the American College of Healthcare Executives Asian Healthcare Leaders Forum, according to the MWMC announcement.
He holds a master’s degree in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the College of Charleston.
Digging deeper: After service, personnel changes, what's going on at MetroWest Medical Center?
In a statement, Carolyn Jackson — CEO of MetroWest Medical Center parent company Tenet Healthcare’s Massachusetts market — praised Elgarico’s resume and track record.
“David is an experienced hospital executive with a history of delivering high-quality care and service growth at the organizations he has led,” she said. “We are very excited to watch the positive impact David will have on MetroWest Medical Center in the coming years, and thrilled that he chose this region as the ideal place to live, work and lead.”
Abby Patkin is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. Follow Abby on Twitter @AMPatkin. She can be reached at apatkin@wickedlocal.com.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham has a new chief executive
