Scripps CEO Among America's 100 Most Powerful in Healthcare

Scripps Health President and CEO Chris Van Gorder, FACHE, has been selected to Modern Healthcare’s annual ranking of the nation’s 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare, published in the magazine’s Aug. 24, 2009 edition.

Van Gorder has been named to the list for three straight years and is the sole San Diegan selected in 2009. He is the only San Diego hospital administrator ever to make the list since its inception in 2002.

Distributed nationally, Modern Healthcare is one of the nation’s largest health care trade publications. Earlier this year, Modern Healthcare invited readers to nominate candidates for the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare list. Readers submitted more than 25,000 nominations, and Modern Healthcare then placed the 300 people who received the most nominations on a final ballot on its website.

As president and CEO of Scripps Health since 2000, Van Gorder has led the nonprofit health system through $115 million operational turnaround, and in the process repositioned Scripps among the nation’s leading health care institutions. Scripps is now at the beginning of a $2 billion growth and expansion plan across the region and has recently branched out into leading-edge research areas such as genomics, translational science and wireless medicine. Scripps has also been named among the nation’s top employers by Fortune magazine, as well as AARP and Working Mother magazine.

In addition to his duties with Scripps Health, Van Gorder serves as chairman-elect of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), an international professional society of more than 30,000 health care executives. As chairman-elect, he is serving the first of a three-year term in ACHE’s consecutive chairmanship offices: chairman-elect, chairman and immediate past chairman.

Van Gorder also serves as a commissioner on the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services. Under his leadership, Scripps Health is working with the state of California’s Emergency Medical Services Authority to develop the internal operations structure for the state’s recently purchased mobile field hospitals, to be used in the event of mass casualties from natural disasters or terrorist events.

Van Gorder is also serving his second term as a commissioner to the United States Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

He is a clinical professor in health administration at the University of Southern California, where he also serves on the Healthcare Administration Advisory Board of the university’s School of Policy, Planning and Development. In addition, he is a reserve commander in the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue Unit and a licensed emergency medical technician.

Earlier this year, Van Gorder received the 2009 B’nai B’rith National Healthcare Award for his leadership in health care, education, community service and disaster response.

Van Gorder received his master’s degree in public administration/health services administration from the University of Southern California and completed the Wharton System CEO Program at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles.