SCL Health announced Friday that Jen Alderfer has been named president of the Montana Region and St. Vincent Healthcare.
Alderfer was selected following a national search and was chosen based on feedback from Montana Regional Board members, medical staff, and local and system leaders. Alderfer will assume her new role in Montana on Nov. 29.
Alderfer has been a leader at SCL Health for more than four years, serving as both the president of Good Samaritan Medical Center and as Transformation Officer for SCL Health.
“Jen has had great success leading the Good Samaritan team and our entire system in operational and quality improvements,” Mark Korth, executive vice president and chief operating officer of SCL Health said in a press release. “We are fortunate to have Jen’s strong experience and expertise in the Montana Region, and we look forward to continuing to advance our shared vision for the future of SCL Health Montana together.”
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Under her leadership, Good Samaritan has been recognized as one of the top 1% in the nation for three straight years, and most recently it was named one of the top hospitals in Colorado by U.S. News and World Report.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to work collaboratively in Montana with our physicians, associates, board members, and community partners as we continue to offer residents of the communities we serve the very best health care services,” Alderfer said in the release.
“Providing the best possible care in challenging times continues to be our focus as we deal with another COVID-19 surge. I know our care teams balance the concerns that we all have for our families, friends, and community. I am so proud of our teams and their ongoing dedication to providing the high level of care people come to trust from us. We all hope and pray this pandemic ends soon, and until it does, we are all in this together," she said.
Alderfer and her husband have three children.
She takes over local leadership after CEO Steve Loveless resigned earlier this year. The hospital’s Chief Operating Officer Michael Skehan has been serving as interim president.
Loveless moved to the hospital from Arkansas in 2012 and was named CEO upon the departure of Jason Barker in 2014.
In September, SCL Health, the nonprofit Catholic-based health care company that owns St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, announced it would merge with the Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare.
The merger is expected to change little of how St. Vincent operates, said Skehan in September. SCL, or the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, has existed since 1858 and is a Catholic charitable organization. Under the merger, the SCL hospitals and clinics with Catholic ties will retain their Catholic identities and values.