Dennis W. Pullin, FACHE, has been named president and CEO of Virtua, the largest healthcare system in southern New Jersey, succeeding Richard P. Miller who has held that position for 22 years. Pullin officially assumes the role in the fall of this year.

A seasoned healthcare executive with operational and business development experience, Pullin has had leadership roles in hospitals, academic medical centers, physician group practices and private industry. He comes to Virtua from MedStar Health in Baltimore, MD, where he served as president of Medstar Harbor Hospital and as senior vice president of MedStar Health, a not-for-profit, community based health system comprised of ten hospitals and 25 integrated businesses.

Harbor Hospital is a 259-bed hospital with more than 450 physicians and over 1,400 employees. In addition to his hospital responsibilities, Pullin has system responsibility for pharmacy, imaging, lab and pathology, behavioral health services and transportation.

Prior to his appointment to this position in 2009, he was senior vice president and COO of MedStar Washington Hospital Center, a 926-bed acute care teaching and research hospital with 6,000 employees, annual admissions in excess of 46,000 and over one billion dollars in annual revenue.

His previous leadership positions include vice president, operations and business development, St. Luke's Episcopal Health System, Houston, TX; vice president, acquisitions and development, Symbion Ambulatory Resource Centers, Nashville, TN; executive director, Baylor Sports Medicine Institute, Houston, TX, and COO, Hopestar Medical Management Group, also in Houston.

An undergraduate of Texas Lutheran University, Pullin earned an MS degree from Texas A & M University and a certificate for post graduate studies in cardiac rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine. He is an associate professor of healthcare management at Towson University, Towson, MD.

A regent of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he has been an active member of the Maryland Hospital Association among other professional affiliations. He has served on the boards of numerous non-profit community and civic organizations including Healthcare for the Homeless, Houston Regional HIV/AIDS Resource Group, the American Heart Association and DePelchin Children's Center among others.

Pullin is a Hall of Fame Inductee of the Edgewater Independent School District, a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has been named among Top Blacks in Healthcare by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions.

"We are pleased to welcome Dennis Pullin to Virtua," said David Kindlick, Chairman of Virtua's Board of Trustees, "and we look forward to his leadership and vision for carrying forward the work Rich Miller has done to ensure high quality and financial stability, and for creating a culture that focuses on providing an outstanding customer experience, achieved by investing in employees and hiring for values."

Richard P. Miller has served as president and CEO of Virtua since its formation in 1997. Prior to that, he had been president and CEO of the West Jersey Health System before its merger with Memorial Health Alliance to form Virtua.

At the time of his retirement announcement, Miller stated: "I've been privileged to lead one of the region's greatest healthcare teams with people who are dedicated to compassionate healing and outstanding customer service. The time has come for me to pass the baton to the next generation of leaders, and I will take great pride in watching the organization continue to fulfill its mission of helping people be well, get well and stay well."

Miller and Pullin will be working closely together over the coming months to ensure a seamless transition in leadership.

ABOUT VIRTUA

As one of New Jersey's largest, non-profit health systems, Virtua provides comprehensive health care services to achieve its mission to help people be well, get well and stay well. Virtua provides services through Virtua Medical Group with 302 physicians and other clinicians, and at its urgent care centers, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, health and wellness centers, fitness centers, home health services, long-term care and rehabilitation centers, and paramedic program. A leader in maternal and child health services, Virtua delivers nearly 8,000 babies a year. It provides health services to 1,500 businesses, and participates in Virtua Physician Partners, a clinically integrated network of 1,400 physicians and other clinicians. Virtua is affiliated with Penn Medicine for cancer and neuroscience and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for pediatrics. It employs over 9,000 and has been honored as the #1 Best Place to Work in the Delaware Valley every year since 2007. It is the recipient of a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for quality of care, and its hospitals earned straight A's in patient safety by The Leapfrog Group and the 2016 Patient Safety Award from Healthgrades. U.S. News and World Report ranked Virtua's Mount Holly and Voorhees hospitals as High Performing Hospitals and Voorhees as a Best Regional Hospital. Virtua is also the recipient of the Consumer Choice Award from the National Research Corporation. For more information, visit www.virtua.org or www.virtuabroadcastnetwork.org.