Richard A. Norling will retire as president and chief executive officer of Premier Inc., the nationwide healthcare alliance, on June 30, 2009, the end of his current contract term.
The Premier healthcare alliance is owned by not-for-profit hospitals and serves more than 2,000 U.S. hospitals and 53,000-plus other healthcare sites. The alliance operates one of the leading healthcare purchasing networks and the most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information in the United States.
Premier Board Chairman Lowell C. Kruse, president and CEO of Heartland Health in St. Joseph, Mo., said a process is underway to have a successor identified to ensure a smooth transition. He said Norling has been planning for his retirement for some time and the succession planning process allows for orderly transition before he leaves.
"We are fortunate to have Rick's ongoing leadership through mid-2009 and the opportunity to go forward with no gap in direction and momentum," Kruse said. He added that Premier would be following best practices of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award with ongoing succession planning.
Norling joined Premier as chief operating officer in 1997, one year after Premier was created through the mergers of three smaller organizations. He became its president and CEO in 1998. Earlier, he had been president and chief executive officer of the Fairview Hospital and Healthcare System, headquartered in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
"The strong Premier alliance that exists today has been very much shaped by Rick's vision, strategic thinking and passion for building an excellent organization rooted in values," Kruse said.
The Premier board and its committees are in the preliminary stages of identifying a successor, Kruse said. The board has engaged an executive search firm, Spencer Stuart, to assist with the identification of candidates.
Premier Inc. was awarded the 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The organization has worked with the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve hospital performance.