Valhalla, N.Y. (April 16, 2024) –– After nearly 20 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Westchester Medical Center and the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), Michael D. Israel will retire from his position at the end of 2025. The Westchester County Healthcare Corporation (WCHCC) Board of Directors has initiated a nationwide search for his replacement.
“After almost two decades in this role, this is the right time to move on to my next phase, and for a new leader to come in and build upon all that we have accomplished to improve healthcare across the Hudson Valley region,” Israel said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this Network and my focus over the next year will be to continue to serve our organization, and communities while advancing our mission.”
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| Michael D. Israel |
In collaboration with a high-functioning executive team that he hand-selected to lead the organization, Israel steered a financial turnaround for Westchester Medical Center, helping lead the transformation into a Network that has grown to include nine hospitals and nearly 1,800 inpatient beds across eight counties and 6,200 square miles. With $3 billion in annual revenue, the Network today has a total economic community impact of $896 million.
Among Israel’s most notable achievements are:
- Strategic affiliations with two health systems, HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley and Bon Secours Charity Health System, and an independent hospital, St. Francis Hospital (now MidHudson Regional Hospital), to form a whole new entity, Westchester Medical Center Health (WMCHealth) Network;
- The renovation and upgrading of the Network’s hospitals and construction of the eight-story, 260,000-square-foot Ambulatory Care Pavilion on the Network’s flagship campus – a $230 million project was the region’s largest healthcare construction project in decades at the time of its construction; and
- In cooperation with New York State (NYS), delivering a $113 million expansion and enhancement of HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston, Ulster County; and the $24 million upgrade and expansion of Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, Orange County.
Notably, Israel and the Network’s executive team also developed and secured financing for a new Critical Care Tower at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. This five-story, 262,000-square-foot tower will provide the most advanced care possible for critically injured and ill patients and strengthen the teaching and training ecosystem for medical students, residents and fellows.
Upon Israel’s arrival in 2005, he worked to develop Westchester Medical Center into the centerpiece of the multi-hospital WMCHealth Network. With 12,000 employees unified around providing premier healthcare services to all regardless of their ability to pay, WMCHealth treats hundreds of thousands of patients each year across the Hudson Valley. Westchester Medical Center stands proudly as the Hudson Valley region’s only Level I Trauma Center for adults and children, organ transplant center, pediatric intensive care unit and comprehensive stroke center and burn center.
As the region’s only academic medical center, WMCHealth’s Westchester Medical Center and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital are affiliated with New York Medical College, training over 500 residents and fellows each year, preparing them to lead the future of medicine.
“Michael has been tireless in his efforts to ensure a sturdy and resilient foundation for the Network, built upon the principles of providing high quality care with a laser-like focus on continuous improvement,” said Zubeen Shroff, Chairman of the WCHCC Board of Directors. “As I reflect on Michael’s legacy, I think he will be remembered as a builder who lifted this organization and turned it into a premier healthcare provider in the State of New York.”
The WCHCC Board of Directors has hired Russell Reynolds Associates to conduct a nationwide search.
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with nine hospitals on seven campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. The Network has Level I (adult and pediatric), Level II and Level III trauma centers, the region’s only acute care children’s hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, skilled nursing facilities, home-care services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealth or Instagram.com/WMCHealth.
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