Steven P. Boyle, chief executive officer of St. Peter’s Health Partners, announced today that he intends to retire from his position effective October 1, 2012.
Boyle has spent 24 years in executive leadership at St. Peter’s. In October 2011, he became Chief Executive Officer of St. Peter’s Health Partners (SPHP), northeastern New York’s largest health care system formed by the merger of three smaller regional systems — St. Peter’s Health Care Services, Northeast Health and Seton Health.
Boyle was the first CEO to run the newly merged SPHP with more than 11,700 employees at more than 125 locations across seven counties and an annual budget of nearly $1.1 billion. Boyle previously served as president and CEO of St. Peter’s Hospital since 1993, and president and CEO of St. Peter’s Health Care Services since 1994. He joined St. Peter’s Hospital in 1988 as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Upon Boyle’s retirement, James K. Reed, MD, who currently serves as President of SPHP, will become both President & CEO — consolidating the two positions in one individual. Dr. Reed will become President & CEO on October 1. Boyle’s role at St. Peter’s Hospital will be filled by Ann Errichetti, MD, MBA, of Chicago, who was recently named Chief Executive Officer of St. Peter’s Hospital, and Vice President, Acute Care-Albany, SPHP, effective September 4.
“I have been honored to have served as President and CEO of this great institution,” Boyle said. “It has truly been a privilege to witness St. Peter’s growth from a high-quality community hospital to become the center for tertiary care of one of New York state’s largest health care systems. I am proud to have played a leadership role in these accomplishments, but humbled by the incredible talents and work of so many who have made it possible.”
“As I look back, what gives me the greatest pride is the tremendous team of people we have assembled over the last two decades and the remarkable facilities, programs and services they have developed for a singular purpose – to be there for the people of this region when they need help the most. I am grateful to have had this opportunity and certain that what we have developed is poised for even greater accomplishments in the future.”
During his tenure at St. Peter’s, Boyle succeeded in strengthening the institution’s position across every important benchmark: sustained financial stability; national rankings for quality; enhanced the reputation of an award-winning cardiac program; major capital projects as part of a comprehensive master facilities plan; restructuring of the institution’s board and transition to lay leadership; and, finally, a historic and complex merger of three organizations into the largest health care system in northeastern New York.
With a quiet demeanor and a gentle, self-assured style, Boyle tackled challenges both large and small with an unflagging sense of hope. Even during the deep and stubborn economic downturn and unprecedented strains on the nation’s health care system, Boyle was always able to look on the bright side and to articulate that assurance. “Our best days are ahead of us,” he said recently. “If you’re not an optimist, you don’t belong in health care.”
Sydney Tucker Jones III, co-chair of the St. Peter’s Health Partners Board of Trustees and chair of the St. Peter’s Health Care Services and St. Peter’s Hospital boards for nearly two decades said, “Steve Boyle guided the St. Peter’s organization through one of the most challenging and tumultuous periods in the recent history of health care. More importantly, by any measure, he did so with sustained success. There is no doubt that the St. Peter’s Health Partners merger would not have occurred without his trusted leadership. He leaves behind an important piece of the region’s infrastructure that has literally been redesigned and rebuilt for our community’s future.”
“Less apparent but no less significant were the ways in which Steve nurtured a culture of kindness and helpfulness at St. Peter’s Hospital,” Jones said. “Patients frequently mentioned in questionnaires the sense of family that permeates the staff at every level of the institution and how touched they felt by the heartfelt patient care, the collegiality of employees and an across-the-board commitment to the highest quality of care. Much of this was a result of Steve’s influence.”
George Philip, vice chair of the SPHP Board said, “Steve has extensive knowledge of the science, technology and economics of the health care environment, as well as a strong sense of the importance of relationships in making institutions grow. Steve’s role in pursuing the merger which created St. Peter’s Health Partners is the best evidence of his commitment to the health of our region. He leaves a health care system far better, much stronger and more resilient than the one he joined in 1988.”
“During a time of rapid change and enormous challenges in the health care field, Steve Boyle has been integral to the success of St. Peter’s Health Care Services and Catholic Health East,” said Judith Persichilli, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Health East. “Steve’s leadership and vision were key to the coming together of St. Peter’s, Northeast Health, and Seton Health to form St. Peter’s Health Partners, a new organization that builds on the synergies of the partner organizations to provide the best possible care to residents of the Capital Region of New York state. We will be forever grateful for his contributions to improving the health of his community, and for his dedication to the mission and values of St. Peter’s and Catholic Health East.”
“Steve Boyle’s exceptional skill set allowed him to direct this large and complex organization with a soft-spoken grace and inner calmness,” noted Sister Kathleen Turley, RSM, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Northeast Community Leadership Team. “As the first lay person to oversee St. Peter’s Hospital, he has built on the legacy of the founders of St. Peter’s, the Religious Sisters of Mercy, whose motto was: ‘In The Care Of The Sick, Great Tenderness Above All Things.’”
Here are a few highlights of Boyle’s accomplishments from his career at St. Peter’s:
- Finished each year “in the black,” even during the recent recession, and created one of the most financially solid health care organizations in all of New York state.
- Consistently maintained a positive operating margin while managing continuous growth in patient care. Patient discharges climbed by 22 percent from 20,820 discharges annually when Boyle became President & CEO to more than 25,542 in 2011. Total operating revenue more than tripled during his tenure from $142 million to $454 million.
- Encouraged staff volunteerism, which has risen steadily to nearly 50,000 hours of volunteer labor provided around the Capital Region annually.
- Created an award-winning cardiac program. St. Peter’s Hospital was named to the national Top 100 Cardiovascular Hospitals by Thomson Reuters, an independent health research group, 10 times in the past 12 years. St. Peter’s is the only hospital in New York state and one of just five acute care hospitals out of 6,000 across the United States to earn the distinction that many times.
- Fostered an atmosphere of nationally-recognized quality care. Twice St. Peter’s Hospital earned the most prestigious designation for nursing achievement and excellence with accreditation as a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. It is nursing’s highest honor and is considered the “gold standard” for nursing care in hospitals. Magnet status is held by only 350 institutions or only about six percent of all hospitals nationwide.
- Shaped St. Peter’s Cancer Care Center into one of the region’s leading comprehensive treatment facilities for complex cancers. It features some of New York’s finest diagnostic facilities, an expanded breast center, multiple oncological surgical specialties and subspecialties, the region’s most advanced radiation therapies, and precise robotic surgery. St. Peter’s Cancer Care Center was among the first hospitals in the nation to receive the Blue Distinction® Award for the Treatment of Complex and Rare Cancers.
- Helped to significantly grow St. Peter’s Hospital’s orthopedic surgery program to become one of the state’s leading institutions in joint replacement, and offers the most advanced orthopedic procedures available.
- Established a comprehensive Master Facilities Plan at St. Peter’s Hospital, including the September 2011 grand opening of a new six-story Patient Care Pavilion & Diagnostic and Treatment Platform, the centerpiece of a $258 million modernization and expansion that is the largest project of its kind since the hospital was founded in 1869. The project replaced or renovated most of the St. Peter’s Hospital campus. It expands cardiovascular services provided by St. Peter’s nationally-ranked Cardiac & Vascular Center; created 24 state-of-the-art operating rooms; enhances the privacy and convenience of patients; and further enhances the institution’s healing environment for the area’s best physicians, nurses and staff to provide care.
- Spearheaded a major board restructuring for St. Peter’s Health Care Services that eased the transition from the Sisters of Mercy’s long and capable stewardship to lay leadership as a proactive response to the declining number of religious sisters.
- Partnered in the historic October 2011 merger of St. Peter’s Health Care Services, Northeast Health and Seton Health into St. Peter’s Health Partners, a new not-for-profit organization that serves as the parent corporation for the three merging entities. This proactive step served as a way to ensure a vital and strong health care system built to last for the 21st century and to stay ahead of the curve of the ever-changing health care landscape. “This gives us a better opportunity to control our own destiny rather than having our future dictated to us,” Boyle said.
Boyle was inducted into the prestigious Tech Valley Business Hall of Fame in May 2009. The Business Hall of Fame recognizes local champions of free enterprise for their success and dedication toward making the Tech Valley a better place to live and work. It is one of the area’s most prestigious business awards.
Boyle earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Siena College in Loudonville, NY, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut. In joining St. Peter’s in 1988, Boyle first served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of St. Peter’s Hospital. Boyle previously served as CEO of F.F. Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua, NY, and senior vice president and COO at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, NY.
Boyle lives in Slingerlands, NY, with his wife, Rosemarie. They have two adult children, Sean and Maura.
