Thank you for keeping the community healthy

Michael Stephens’ list of accomplishments is long enough to quicken

the breath, speed up the pulse and leave one feeling just a little

bit woozy.

Stephens, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian’s president and

chief executive for 30 years, announced last week that he will retire

in the summer or fall of 2005. It will be quite a loss for both the

hospital and the community.

During his tenure, he’s led the team that put in place Hoag’s

“four centers of excellence” -- the hospital’s phrase for its focus

on cancer, women’s health, orthopedics and cardiac care. He also

championed the hospital’s outreach to neighboring communities,

helping to bring Hoag’s renowned care to clinics in Irvine,

Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and Aliso Viejo. And he oversaw the

beginning of its expansion of the state-of-the-art Women’s Pavilion

now under construction.

Is your heart going yet? Here’s one final achievement to chew on:

The 61-year-old did it all while keeping the hospital financially

healthy.

Proof of Stephens’ commitment to Hoag is most easily found,

however contradictory it may sound, in his very resignation. Rather

than waiting -- making the process of replacing him a speedy, hectic

and unnecessarily difficult one -- Stephens has given Hoag’s board of

directors plenty of time to find a worthy successor.

Judging by Stephens’ great success, the board will need all the

time it can get. The community, too, will need the time to thank him

adequately.

We are pleased to be among the first with the opportunity to say

it: Thanks for all the years of good work.