Queen of the Valley names new CEO

[caption id="attachment_35396" align="alignleft" width="115" caption="Walt Mickens"][/caption]

NAPA -- St. Joseph Health System announced today that Walt Mickens is the new president and chief executive officer of Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.

[caption id="attachment_20020" align="alignright" width="108" caption="Dennis Sisto"][/caption]

Mr. Mickens succeeds Dennis Sisto, who is retiring after a 13-year tenure at the 191-bed hospital and 24 years with St. Joseph Health System. He agreed to remain in his position until a successor was named.

Mr. Mickens had been chief 0perations officer for the hospital since 2008. He has more than 25 years of experience at acute care facilities, including teaching, faith-based, nonprofit, for-profit, trauma center and community hospitals, according to Queen of the Valley.

“Walt has been an asset to our health care system and brings significant experience that will lead Queen into the next chapter of success while continuing to provide the highest quality of care,” said Joseph Randolph, executive vice president and COO of St. Joseph Health System. “He has played an intricate role in the Queen’s impressive record of growth and development and I am confident that his vision will continue to build on Queen’s heritage of meeting the needs of the Napa community.”

While at Queen of the Valley, Mr. Mickens helped forge a creative partnership with UCSF Medical Center to return neurosurgery to the Napa Valley, opened a wound care center, built strong relationships with medical staff and employees, personally championed the employee health program and oversaw successful adoption of various process-improvement initiatives aimed at financial and operational efficiency.

“I am excited to be part of Queen of the Valley’s continued success,” said Mr. Mickens. “I look forward to continuing and expanding on the standards of service and excellence advanced by Dennis that truly distinguish the Queen as a regional healthcare resource. As we look for opportunities to expand our services and extend our mission, my goal is to focus on building a network of care that reaches beyond our hospital walls.”

Before coming to Queen of the Valley, he served as CEO of West Boca Medical Center in Boca Raton, Fla. Previously, he was an executive at St. Joseph Health System--Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.

During his career, Mr. Mickens has planned and implemented a wide variety of clinical and operational programs, including "hospitalist" relationships, inpatient and outpatient surgery programs, employee and patient satisfaction efforts, and service line planning and implementation. He has also overseen employee and community campaigns focusing on a variety of issues critical to healthcare delivery.

Mr. Mickens earned an MBA in Corporate Finance at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, N.J., and an undergraduate Business Administration degree from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Penn.

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