Leo Correa Appointed Chief Executive Officer of St. Catherine Hospital

Correa-LeoCommunity Foundation of Northwest Indiana Chief Executive Officer Donald P. Fesko announces the appointment of Leo Correa, MBA, to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of St. Catherine Hospital, East Chicago, effective February 13, 2017. St. Catherine Hospital is a member of Community Healthcare System along with Community Hospital in Munster and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart. Correa succeeds Jo Ann Birdzell, who served as CEO for the past 19 years.

Correa brings to the position extensive healthcare experience, including leadership at several university medical centers and most recently serving as Associate Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

“We are pleased to have identified a strong candidate for the position of Chief Executive Officer, someone who has significant experience from clinical operations, service line development, physician partnerships, patient safety and strategic planning,” said Donald P. Fesko, Chief Executive Officer, Community Foundation of Northwest Indiana, Inc., and parent company to the Community Healthcare System. “Leo brings to this position a solid understanding of hospital operations and knowledge of how to build on the strengths of St. Catherine Hospital while continuing to develop community partnerships.”

Correa earned his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in health services from Keller Graduate School of Management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare field with a background that includes positions in financial planning and analysis; operational leadership and research administration. During this tenure, Correa has held various executive leadership positions at the University of Chicago Medicine, Northwestern University and Rush University Medical Center.

St. Catherine Hospital offers a broad range of healthcare services in specialty areas ranging from cardiovascular care, diabetes management and behavioral health services, to diagnostic imaging, interventional cardiology and state-of-the-art radiation therapy for cancer with the CyberKnife® Center.

A nationally recognized leader in patient safety, St. Catherine Hospital has received an “A” for five consecutive years in delivering safe quality care from The Leapfrog Group. This year, St. Catherine Hospital also achieved a five-star rating – the highest rating possible – for overall quality of care from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

For more information about the extraordinary people at the hospitals of Community Healthcare System visit www.comhs.org.