SEATTLE – (April 4, 2016) – Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD, has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders in Healthcare for the 11^th time by Modern Healthcare magazine. Dr. Kaplan is No. 11 on the annual list, published in today’s edition of the national magazine. “This recognition is a major honor for Dr. Kaplan and the entire Virginia Mason organization he has led for the past 16 years,” said Jim Young, chair, Virginia Mason Board of Directors. “Under his leadership, Virginia Mason has become an international pacesetter with renown for innovation, quality, service and patient safety.”

Dr. Kaplan has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Virginia Mason Health System since 2000. Also, he is chair of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Board of Directors and chairman of the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Lucian Leape Institute. Only two other people have made the list of 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders in Healthcare as many times as Dr. Kaplan.

“I am proud of this recognition by Modern Healthcare magazine and honored to have the opportunity to lead the Virginia Mason team as we continue working to transform health care,” Dr. Kaplan said.

In addition to his responsibilities as chairman and CEO at Virginia Mason, he is a practicing internal medicine physician who continues to see patients.

“Those of us in health care have the privilege of taking care of people who come to us at their most anxious and vulnerable times,” Dr. Kaplan said. “This is truly is a sacred trust and we must earn that trust every day.”

The magazine’s most influential list, launched 12 years ago, honors physicians deemed by their peers and an expert panel to be the most influential in terms of demonstrating leadership and impact. Readers of Modern Healthcare magazine nominate and vote for executives they view as most influential. Readers’ votes count for 50 percent of the outcome. The opinions of senior editors account for the other 50 percent.

About Virginia Mason Virginia Mason, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system based in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. In the Puget Sound region, the system includes 336-bed Virginia Mason Hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 480 physicians; regional medical centers in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Federal Way, Kirkland, Issaquah and Lynnwood; Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS; Benaroya Research Institute, which is internationally recognized for autoimmune disease research; and Virginia Mason Institute, which trains health care professionals and others from around the world in the Virginia Mason Production System, an innovative management methodology for continually improving quality, safety and efficiency. Virginia Mason online: VirginiaMason.org

Virginia Mason also includes Yakima-based Memorial Family of Services and Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, a 226-bed facility serving the Yakima Valley in Central Washington since 1950. Memorial Family of Services comprises primary care practices and specialty care services, including high quality cardiac care, a continuum of cancer care, hospice care, and advanced services for children with special health care needs. Memorial online: YakimaMemorial.org

Media Contact:
Gale Robinette
Media Relations Manager
Virginia Mason Health System
(206) 341-1509
gale.robinette@VirginiaMason.org