William H. Considine, CEO of Akron (Ohio) Children's Hospital, announced his retirement. He became CEO emeritus, effective Oct. 31, and he will retire from the CEO emeritus position Jan. 1, 2020.
Mr. Considine became president and CEO of the hospital in 1979. During his tenure, he grew the hospital from one with an annual operating budget of $35 million and 900 employees to one with a budget of $1.8 billion and 6,000-plus employees. The organization today has two hospital campuses and 60-plus locations. Currently, there are three regional health centers under construction.
As CEO emeritus, Mr. Considine will continue to work with the Children's Hospital Association and Ohio Children's Hospital Association on child advocacy.
Grace Wakulchik, BSN, MSN, RN, succeeded Mr. Considine Oct. 31. She has served as president of Akron Children's since July 2017. She previously served as COO and helped oversee the implementation of a new EHR in 2012.
In addition to her nursing degrees, Ms. Wakulchik earned an MBA from Kent (Ohio) State University. She has also completed the Johnson & Johnson Wharton Fellows Program in Management for Nurse Executives at the Wharton School and Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.