Health Quest, the three-hospital regional health care system in the Hudson Valley, has turned again to the state of Illinois to hire another long-time health care executive for a top administrative post in Dutchess County.
Robert Friedberg will take over Jan. 6 as president of Vassar Brothers Medical Center. He replaces Janet Ready, whom Health Quest officials said will remain in an administrative role at the hospital. They said Ready”™s operational experience and experience in integrating organizations will be important if Health Quest succeeds in acquiring bankrupt St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie.
With more than 30 years in health care management, Friedberg most recently served as president and executive vice president of operations at the 159-bed Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Ill. Health Quest officials said the hospital has earned national recognition in patient, employee and physician satisfaction and has been designated a Magnet hospital, the American Nursing Association”™s highest honor for nursing excellence.
Friedberg previously was senior administrator at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke”™s Medical Center in Chicago. He also served as vice president and chief operating officer for MacNeal Health Network in Berwyn, Ill.
Friedberg will start work at Vassar Brothers five days after another long-time Illinois hospital executive, Luke McGuinness, begins full-time work as president and CEO of Health Quest in Lagrangeville. He was named to the top post in November after serving as president and CEO of a suburban Chicago hospital system. McGuinness in his 35-year CEO career spent 21 years at MacNeal Health Network, where Friedberg also was employed.
