St. Charles names Sluka new president, CEO
St. Charles Health System’s board of directors announced Monday it has hired a new president and chief executive officer, Joseph Sluka, to lead the organization, starting Dec. 1.
Sluka is coming from Rapid City, S.D., where he has served as executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Regional Health for the past four years.
Regional Health is a tax-exempt, community-based organization comprised of more than 40 health care facilities throughout Rapid City and the Black Hills region, including five hospitals. The company employs more than 4,500 people.
“The board voted unanimously to bring Joe to St. Charles Health System,” said Tom Sayeg, chairman of the board. “Culturally and professionally, Joe is the right person to guide our organization through the many changes the health care industry is experiencing. He has a history of working closely with physicians and successfully implementing Lean methodologies, and has the skills to help the health system meet the high standard of care our community expects and deserves.”
Sluka will succeed Jim Diegel, who announced in January he would step down from the post he’s held for eight years, once a successor has been hired.
Sluka’s base salary will be $635,000, said Lisa Goodman, media and special projects coordinator for St. Charles That is at the 50th percentile (average) for CEOs of similarly sized health systems, she noted.
“The board of directors had also been moving Jim Diegel to that level of compensation, which is considered market-competitive,” Goodman added.
Sluka has held a number of positions with Regional Health, including vice president of managed care.
Prior to joining Regional Health in 2005, Sluka served as executive director of Western Health, chief operating officer at HFM and executive director and chief operating officer at MedPartners.
He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in business from Richard Stockton College.
He and his wife Lynn are looking forward to moving to Oregon. They have two children. Their daughter, Candace, is married and lives in the Northwest and their son, Hunter, is a senior in high school.
“St. Charles Health System is a wonderful organization with a well-deserved reputation for state-of-the-art clinical care delivered with great compassion and respect,” Sluka said.
“I have been impressed with every caregiver I have come in contact with. Together we will build on St. Charles’ strong foundation, furthering system integration to provide seamless patient care and to thrive in the rapidly changing health care environment.
“I am honored to have been selected as CEO and look forward to working with the team and the community to achieve our vision of creating America’s healthiest community, together,” Sluka added.
About St. Charles Health System
St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras and Redmond, and leases and operates Pioneer Memorial Hospital. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters and employs more than 180 medical providers in a variety of specialties. St. Charles is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon, with more than 3,400 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.
