CGH CEO Andersen retiring; local doctor to replace him

STERLING – Ed Andersen, CGH Medical Center’s president and CEO, is retiring Jan. 4, 2013.

He will be replaced by Dr. Paul G. Steinke, a family practitioner and CGH’s vice president of clinical services, the hospital board of directors announced Wednesday.

Andersen, 62, joined the Community General Hospital in 1975; he became president and CEO in 1996.

Steinke, 42, a 1987 Sterling High School graduate, joined the CGH Medical Center Main Clinic, formerly the Sterling Rock Falls Clinic, as a family practitioner in 2005 and was promoted to the VP position last year.

In addition to overseeing the 1,400 employees of the city-owned hospital and its many clinics,
Steinke will continue to see patients, but on a limited basis.

It’s a request he made during his job interview, he said.

“Since my roots are as a physician ... best way of staying grounded in what we do – delivering health care – would be to continue seeing patients,” he said Wednesday.

Other CEO responsibilities include setting strategy, working with committees to set policy, and meeting with various community groups, Andersen said.

Steinke also will be responsible for budget decisions and physician recruitment.

In addition, Steinke said he is preparing to handle changes in health care that arise from the national Affordable Care Act.

“Challenges in health care really are plenty, especially for a community hospital,” he said. “Part of the vision is making sure that we can continue to be here and provide excellent care to the patients of our community.”

Physicians are increasingly being asked to do more with less, Steinke said.

“We get paid for seeing a patient and for the things we do for that one particular patient,” he said. “What’s coming down, we are going to be responsible for a population rather than an individual.”

There are a few ways the hospital can be better prepared to handle some of these challenges, he said.

“I think the success of our organization is going to come down to making sure that we have better teamwork ... communicating more effectively. Sometimes more testing isn’t always best. On top of all that, we have to do that with less money.”

Steinke said his practice has helped prepare him for his new role. “I’m used to knowing a little bit about everything but being expert in none,” he said, adding that he will use his experience leading teams to deliver the best patient care.

Andersen, who will spend the rest of his tenure helping Steinke learn the ropes, has “a unique leadership style that has kept the hospital forward-focusing,” the incoming CEO said.

Since taking the helm at CGH 15 years ago, Andersen has led the hospital through several building projects, including the addition of the Milledgeville, Prophetstown, Lynn Boulevard and downtown Sterling health centers; the addition of the CGH Wound Healing Center; the addition of the Cardiac Cath Lab; the 75,000-square-foot addition on the west end of the Sterling Rock Falls Clinic (now the CGH Main Clinic); and the 66,000-square-foot expansion and addition of the hospital’s north wing, according to a release from the hospital.

He will remain as an adviser to the hospital board for 2 years after his retirement.

“I think, under his direction, the hospital has really brought to the community a lot of things that you quite often see at big-city hospitals,” Steinke said. “He has been instrumental in introducing those things. They wouldn’t have happened without his leadership.”

Andersen also is chairman of the Sauk Valley Community College Board and the Greater Sterling Development Corp., secretary for the CGH Health Foundation, and finance chairman for Wesley United Methodist Church. He has been president of the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and the Sterling Noon Rotary Club.

“My time at CGH has been personally rewarding, and it is hard to leave that behind,” Andersen said in the release.

“Every day I walk into CGH, I feel like I have the opportunity to carry on Christ’s work here on earth. CGH is filled with employees with incredible dedication, compassion and empathy – they make a real difference in the lives of our patients and community. It has been my great privilege to work with them in our healing mission.”

Steinke plans to keep the focus on caregiving, he said.

CGH has “a rich history and reputation for delivering excellence in the community. My goal would be that we can continue that and ultimately, never lose the primary goal of delivering the best patient care that we can deliver.”