CommonSpirit Health CEO Kevin Lofton, who jointly leads the Chicago-based organization with CEO Lloyd Dean, is retiring from his administrative role, effective June 30.
When he retires, Mr. Lofton will receive the honorary title CEO emeritus of CommonSpirit Health in recognition of his work in healthcare and at CommonSpirit Health. Mr. Dean will become the sole CEO of the organization on July 1.
"We have been lucky to be on this journey under the leadership and expertise of both Kevin and Lloyd as they worked side by side in the office of the CEO," CommonSpirit board chair Tessie Guillermo said in a news release. "We are confident that under Lloyd's leadership we will be well-positioned to transform how we deliver care across the 21 states we serve."
Mr. Lofton has 42 years of healthcare leadership experience. He was selected as CEO of Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives in 2003. He then became CEO of CommonSpirit Health when the organization formed in February 2019 by the merger of San Francisco-based Dignity Health and CHI. Previously, he was CEO of Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., and COO of UF Health Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla.
The news release said Mr. Lofton chose to retire now, close to CommonSpirit Health's first anniversary, "because CommonSpirit has a strong foundation, a clear mission and strategy and a talented leadership team in place."
Over the course of his career, Mr. Lofton is credited with playing a key role in increasing the nation's number of minority healthcare executives and physicians. He also played a key role in CHI's growth from a 68-hospital, $6 billion enterprise, to a $15.5 billion healthcare entity in 18 states by the time it merged with Dignity. Other achievements under his leadership include CHI's systematic "total health" approach to address social determinants as well as CommonSpirit Health appointing Suja Chandrasekaran to serve as the organization's first chief information and digital officer in August.
"It's a shame to see Kevin E Lofton retire," said Scott Becker, publisher of Becker's Healthcare. "Kevin is an incredible person and leader. He is as good a person as they come. Always gracious, always smart as can be and always a good person. The best."
Read the full news release here.