Three Prominent Physicians Join CHW Board

San Francisco, CA - September 16, 2008 - Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the eighth largest hospital system in the United States, announced today that three physicians have been elected to the CHW Board of Directors.

The new board members, elected to one-year terms effective September 1, 2008 are: Andrew C. Agwunobi, MD; Thomas L. Garthwaite, MD; and Rodney F. Hochman, MD.

"We're honored to have these exceptional senior physician executives agree to join our board," said Lloyd H. Dean, CHW's president/chief executive officer. "Their competence, experience, and vision will serve us well in both governance and management."

Dr. Agwunobi is chief executive officer of Providence Health Care in Spokane, Washington. He previously served as Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Agwunobi, who also has a master's of business degree administration degree from Stanford, has held several executive positions with hospitals and health systems in Georgia and California.

Dr. Garthwaite is executive vice president and chief medical officer of Catholic Health East. He previously served as director and chief medical officer of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Garthwaite earlier served as undersecretary for health with the Veterans Health Administration in Washington, D.C. and was chief of staff and associate dean at the VA Medical Center and Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Hochman is chief executive officer of Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, and earlier served in a number of positions with Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, Va., including executive vice president. Earlier, he served as senior executive officer of Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and held medical instructional positions at Guthrie Healthcare System in Sayre, Pennsylvania and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire.

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