SJHS Volunteers Weblog

The following memo is from Gene Woods, President and CEO of Saint Joseph Health System:

I am very pleased to announce the selection of Ken D. Haynes, MSHA, MBA, CHE as the new president of  Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph East, and soon to be Saint Joseph Jessamine.

Ken comes to us after serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the St. Vincent Health System (Little Rock, Arkansas), which is part of Catholic Health Initiatives, and includes five hospitals comprised of a 1,092 beds and a medical staff of more than 800 physicians. Prior to St. Vincent, he was second-in-command at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, the 766 bed tertiary flagship for the 15 hospital Baptist Memorial Health System.

Given the significance of this position at this critical and exciting juncture in our organizational history, some of the criteria used in making the final selection included: Ken’s significant experience in a very competitive environment; his responsibility for multiple hospital campuses; track record of working with physicians in new ways and demonstrated successes in that regard, including the areas of orthopedics and heart; and his balanced leadership approach and successes around associate engagement and satisfaction. 

As you are likely aware, St. Vincent was also part of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health System prior to Catholic Health Initiatives, thus the two organizations have shared similar missions for decades. About his new appointment, Ken said, “Saint Joseph has such a strong legacy of providing high quality patient care for Lexington and the surrounding communities dating back to Sister Euphrasia Stafford’s pioneering leadership in 1877.  I am honored to be selected for this distinguished position.  I look forward to working alongside our committed hospital council, partnering with our outstanding medical staff, and leading our inspired employees to continue to build upon this strong foundation.”

Ken and his lovely wife, Sara, were recently blessed with a new baby girl, Olivia, just seven weeks ago, and look forward to moving to Lexington along with their other three children, Matthew (8), Nathan (6) and Victoria (4).

I want to thank the search committee, board members, physicians, executive and leadership teams who participated in the process and provided thoughtful and invaluable feedback.  Please join me in welcoming Ken Haynes to the Saint Joseph Family.