Massachusetts General Hospital names
Peter L. Slavin, MD, as next president

BOSTON - July 19, 2002 - Peter L. Slavin, MD, MBA, chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization (MGPO), has been named president of the Massachusetts General Hospital, effective Jan. 1, 2003. He succeeds James J. Mongan, MD, who will become president and CEO of Partners HealthCare System, the parent corporation of the MGH.

"Peter Slavin brings an impressive breadth of administrative, clinical and health policy experience to the position," says Edward Lawrence, chairman of the MGH Board of Trustees, who chaired the search committee. "Peter has proven himself time and again to be a wise, thoughtful and distinguished leader at Mass General and an effective advocate for physicians and patients. He is widely respected and greatly liked, and we are delighted that he will be at the helm of this hospital in the years ahead."

A native of Malden, Mass., Slavin, 44, has spent most of his career at the MGH. Since 1999, he has led the hospital's 1,700-member physician organization, which provides a wide range of administrative and contracting services for doctors associated with the MGH. The MGPO is the largest physician multispecialty group practice in Massachusetts.

In this position Slavin has focused attention on ensuring that physicians are reimbursed promptly and fairly for the services they deliver. In addition, he has helped lead a comprehensive MGH-MGPO initiative called Clinical Performance Management, an integrated medical management program aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of care.

Slavin's previous MGH roles have included serving as senior vice president and chief medical officer from 1994 through 1997, during which he oversaw the hospital's extensive clinical program, ensuring the quality and safety of medical care and services. He has been a member of the hospital's medical staff since 1987, serving as a primary care physician. In addition, Slavin serves as a member of the medical staff for the New England Patriots.

Leading a major academic medical center will not be new to Slavin. In 1997, he was recruited to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., where he served as the first president of the merged institution. While in St. Louis, Slavin helped ease post-merger anxieties by refocusing the attention of physicians, nurses and staff on delivering outstanding patient care. In addition, he launched a $320 million construction effort aimed at updating and integrating the campuses of the two founding hospitals.

"In the years I have known and worked with Peter, I have been enormously impressed by his ability to think through the most complex issues and come to what is inevitably a sensible and intelligent resolution," says Mongan. "Peter and I have worked closely together as the MGH and the MGPO have collaborated on key initiatives that have enhanced hospitalwide quality and safety, reduced length of stay, controlled expenses and promoted workplace diversity and a culturally sensitive environment. No matter what the assignment, Peter first and foremost is a compassionate physician who always keeps the best interest of patients and families at heart. I am confident the MGH will thrive under his leadership, and I look forward to our continued partnership as we both step into new roles within Partners HealthCare."

Slavin calls the opportunity to lead the institution that he loves so much and knows so well an incredible honor. "The Massachusetts General Hospital is an extraordinary place with a rich legacy of excellence and accomplishment in patient care, research and teaching," Slavin says. "It is a great privilege to be entrusted with the leadership of this remarkable academic medical center - a place I consider home. I look forward to continuing to work with the many talented and dedicated employees and staff to sustain and build upon the reputation that the MGH has earned as an international health care resource and treasure."

Samuel O. Thier, MD, president and CEO of Partners HealthCare, calls Slavin an intelligent and effective leader. "Peter is masterful at building consensus because he listens, understands and thinks through situations crisply and constructively," Thier says. "His understated, quiet style has proven tremendously effective in dealing with the hospital's many constituencies, both internal and external."

Slavin received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1984 and his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1990. He holds an undergraduate degree in biochemical sciences from Harvard College. He has been a member of the faculty of Harvard Medical School since 1987.

During college, Slavin spent time working in the Washington office of Congressman Edward J. Markey. He also has served as a legislative analyst in the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health.

A resident of Newton, Slavin and his wife, Lori, have two sons.

The Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the oldest and largest teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States. Each year, more than 42,000 patients are admitted to the 870-bed facility, and its outpatient program and Emergency Department record more than 1.4 million visits annually. The largest nongovernment employer in the city of Boston, the MGH employs more than 16,000 people and has a medical staff of more than 3,000 physicians and researchers. In 1994, the MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital affiliated to form Partners HealthCare System, an integrated health care delivery network that provides the full range of health care services to patients throughout eastern Massachusetts.


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