Contact: Rebecca Teagarden, Memorial Communications, 509-577-5051 Embargoed until 10 a.m., Friday, July 26, 2019

Virginia Mason Memorial President and CEO Russ Myers to retire in early 2020

YAKIMA — After a career of more than 30 years of service at Virginia Mason Memorial, President and CEO Russ Myers will retire in early 2020.

Russ began his career at the originally known as Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in 1989 as a management analyst. His innovative thinking, hard work and dedication earned him increased responsibility and promotions to Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and then Senior Vice President in 2011. He has served as the President and CEO of Virginia Mason Memorial since January 2014.

He began his health care career as a pharmacist in Chehalis, WA, after earning a pharmacy degree at Washington State University. He completed an Accredited Hospital Pharmacy at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, NC. After practicing for 10 years as a hospital pharmacist, Russ attended the University of Washington and completed a master’s degree in health administration in 1989.

In his role as CEO, in collaboration with Memorial’s Board of Directors and senior leadership team, he led the decision-making process to affiliate and integrate with Virginia Mason Health System in .

Russ is a leader in the Yakima community, and through his roles with the Washington State Hospital Association, he is highly regarded by hospital executives throughout the state. Earlier this year, Russ was honored with a Silver Award as the Outstanding Medical Center Executive Outside the Puget Sound Region at Seattle Business magazine’s annual Leaders in Health Care Awards event.

There will be a nationwide search to identify candidates to fill Virginia Mason Memorial’s CEO position.

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About Virginia Mason Memorial Virginia Mason Memorial hospital, part of the Virginia Mason Health System, is a 226-bed, acute-care, nonprofit hospital serving Central Washington’s Yakima Valley. Virginia Mason Memorial includes primary care practices and specialty care services including high-quality cardiac care; cancer care through North Star Lodge; specialized women’s services at `Ohana Breast Health Center; hospice and respite care at Cottage in the Meadow; pain management at Water’s Edge; an advanced NICU unit, the only place in Central Washington offering specialty care for at-risk infants; advanced services for children with special healthcare needs at Children’s Village; the Lower Valley Specialty Center in Sunnyside; and The Memorial Foundation, a separate 501c(3) organization that raises funds for innovative healthcare programs in the Yakima Valley (www.memfound.org).

Visit Memorial online at www.yakimamemorial.org or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/yakimavalleymemorialhospital), Twitter (www.twitter.com/Yakima_Memorial) or Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/yvmh).

Seattle-based Virginia Mason Health System is a nonprofit regional health care system that includes 336-bed Virginia Mason Hospital; Virginia Mason Memorial in Yakima; medical centers in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Federal Way, Kirkland, Issaquah and Lynnwood; Bailey- Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed for people with HIV/AIDS; Benaroya Research Institute, which is internationally recognized for autoimmune disease research; and the Virginia Mason Institute, which trains health care professionals and others from around the world in the Virginia Mason Production System, an innovative management methodology for continually improving quality, safety and efficiency. Virginia Mason online: www.VirginiaMason.org